Seven Spiritual Blessings in Christ Part II

Seven Spiritual Blessings In Christ- Part II

We began a new series, A Pathway to Christian Living. It is a journey through the Book of Ephesians. The apostle Paul endured much more hardship than most other apostles to preach the Gospel. During his first two-year imprisonment in Rome between A.D. 60-62, he wrote four letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. They are known as the prison epistles. One such prison letter is the Epistle to the Ephesians: A Pathway to Christian Living.

He opens that letter with Seven Spiritual Blessings in Christ. Ephesians 1:1-14. We looked at three blessings: 1. We are chosen by Love to be Holy. 2. We have been adopted into God's family. 3. C. We have been given God's unlimited, glorious grace. The phrase "In Christ or In Him appears some 22 times, indicating that these blessings are from Christ only to all who believe in and remain in Christ. Let's look at the remaining four blessings.

We Americans cherish our freedoms more than many others in their countries. Though we didn't work directly or fight for them, we enjoy living in a free country. All our freedoms didn't come freely, and many paid for them with their lives. Let's be grateful and not abuse them.

Freedom doesn't mean you can do or say whatever you want. Listen to this prayer of the senator chaplain Rev. Peter Marshall, who prayed On July 3, 1947, the day before Independence Day, in the U.S. Senate. "May freedom be seen not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right. May it be ever understood that our liberty is under God and can be found nowhere else. May our faith be something that is not merely stamped upon our coins but expressed in our lives." That is true freedom, which can only come from God.

4. We have been made free and forgiven of our sins (Vs. 7)

Ephesians 1:7, "He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins."

"Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!" (The Message)

Have you seen prisoners in shackles or handcuffs? They are restricted, and they can not escape their chains. That's what sin does. It cripples us. It hampers our productivity. Its guilt is unbearable, and ultimately sin leads to death. The apostle Paul cries in Romans 7:24, "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Sin makes you miserable and eventually kills you. No amount of animal sacrifice or money spent through charity can free you from sin.

Then, who can truly free us from sin? Paul has an answer, Romans 7:25, "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." That's what Jesus came to do for us. Because of his kindness and grace, he purchased our freedom from sin by shedding his blood on the Cross. Does sin shackle you? Do you feel guilty and ashamed of your sin? Come to Jesus and be forgiven of your sin. Let Jesus' blood free you from sin and guilt so that you can be blessed in Christ.

5. We have been given all Wisdom and Understanding (Vs. 8)

            Ephesians 1:8, "He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding." What keeps you out of trouble and saves your life? This past week, one evening, my wife and I heard a Tornado warning on our iPhone (that was knowledge). I ignored it and went about my way. But my wife made both of us hurry to the basement (that was wisdom).

She quoted Proverbs 22:3, "A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." Thank God there wasn't any tornado that day. Someone has defined wisdom as knowledge using its head. Husbands, please listen to the wisdom of your wives so that you can save yourselves from some troubles. Do you need to gain the wisdom to navigate life's challenges? How can you obtain spiritual wisdom?

James 1:5, "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." The apostle Paul prayed for the Colossian believers so that they would be filled with spiritual wisdom. Col 1:9, "So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding." Why do we need spiritual wisdom and understanding?

Col 1:10, "Then the way you live will always honor, and please the Lord and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better." To grow in spiritual wisdom, please read the following five wisdom books.

1. Job 2. Psalms 3. Ecclesiastes 4. Proverbs. 5. Song of Songs.

6. We have received an inheritance from God (Vs.11)

Ephesians 1:11, "Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan." What kind of inheritance would you like to obtain if given an opportunity?

Is it 100 acres of land, gold, silver, precious stones, or 1 million dollars? All these earthly treasures can be destroyed. But the inheritance God gives us lasts forever. What is that inheritance? In a word, this inheritance is "Heaven, our eternal home with God. I want us to get excited about our new permanent address called Heaven. It is going to be a beautiful place.

Several scriptures indicate the nature of this inheritance. Our inheritance in Christ is imperishable. (Matthew 6:19-20). Our inheritance in Christ is unspoiled. (Rev 21:27), Our inheritance in Christ is unfading. (Rev 21:5) Although we enjoy many blessings as children of God here on earth, they are nothing compared to our true inheritance, our true home reserved for us in Heaven. Jesus encouraged his disciples, saying, "So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom." Luke 12:32

 

7. We have become God's own by receiving the Holy Spirit (Vs. 13-14)

How do I know all these spiritual blessings are true? Would God deliver the promise of the inheritance? Our confidence in these blessings comes from Paul. Ephesians 1:13-14, "And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people." The Holy Spirit is our guarantee.

This is what the Holy Spirit in us testifies. Romans 8:14-17, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our Spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering." That is the Good News.

We believed in Jesus Christ and received His forgiveness when the Holy Spirit convicted us. We have been set free from sin, guilt, and shame. God graciously adopted us into His family. The Holy Spirit witnesses to our Spirit that we are God's children and God has an inheritance for us: His heavenly home. You and I did nothing to deserve this. It is all God's doing.

Because we believe in Christ, we are given these seven spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms. 1. We are chosen by Love to be Holy (Vs. 4). 2. We have been adopted into God's family (Vs. 5) 3. God's glorious grace has been poured into our lives (Vs. 6)  4. We have been made free and forgiven of our sins (Vs. 7) 5. We have been given all wisdom and understanding (Vs.8) 6. We have received an inheritance from God (Vs.11) 7. We have become God's own by receiving the Holy Spirit (Vs. 13). Why did God give us these blessings? Eph 1:14, "He did this so we would praise and glorify Him." Let's be grateful and give Him all the praise and glory. 

 

 

 

Seven Spiritual Blessings in Christ-Part I

                                                 A PATHWAY TO CHRISTIAN LIVING

Seven Spiritual Blessings In Christ- Part I

Next week, we will be baptizing a few people after the service. I invite you all to join that baptismal service and cheer these new members of the family of God. According to Romans 10:9, they are saved because they have confessed with their mouth Jesus as Lord and believed in their hearts that God raised him from the dead." The next step after salvation is to get baptized.

Through the Baptism of immersion, people put away their old ways of living and commit to follow Jesus. Let's invite them into the Hope Church family and pray and support their spiritual growth. As seasoned Christians as we might be, it would be helpful to remember the gospel truths we have believed throughout our faith journey. To facilitate the first-time learning of those truths and a refresher course for the matured believers, I am starting a new series of teaching titled A Pathway to Christian Living. It is a journey through the Book of Ephesians.

Let me give you an overview of Ephesians: What do we know about the ancient city of Ephesus? What is the beginning of the Ephesian Church? Who is the author, when was it written, and what is the purpose of this Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians? What is the outline and the central theme of the Ephesians? We have a bit of ground to cover; let's get started. 

OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS

1. What do we know about the ancient city of Ephesus?

Ancient Ephesus was the capital of the province of Asia (Asia Minor). It was about one mile inland from the eastern portion of the Aegean Sea. A great theater seating about 50,000 people was located there (Acts 19:31). Also, one of the world's seven wonders, the temple of Diana, was found in Ephesus. During Paul's time, thousands of people from all over the world would travel to Ephesus to worship in the temple of Diana.

Even today, the ruins of Ephesus(in modern-day Turkey) still proclaim its former magnificence. Ephesus was also an important political, educational, and commercial center, ranking with Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch of Pisidia in southern Asia Minor. What happened in Ephesus affected the rest of the region. This explains why the apostle Paul visited Ephesus in two missionary journeys.

2. The beginnings of the Ephesian Church?

            Paul first visited Ephesus during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:18-21). He left Aquilla and Priscilla to help the believers there. On his third missionary Journey, Paul spent three years in Ephesus preaching the word. As a result, throughout the province of Asia, Jews and Greeks heard the word of the Lord (Acts 19:10), and a Church was established in Ephesus.

3. The author, date, and the purpose of the letter to the Ephesians

            The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians is one of Paul's five "Prison Epistles." An epistle is a long, formal letter. When Paul wrote this letter around A.D. 60 to A.D. 64, he was under house arrest in Rome. Though he was a prisoner, he was allowed to have visitors and write letters. He wrote this letter and sent it through Tychicus not to confront any heresy or problem but to encourage and strengthen the Church at Ephesus and all believers everywhere. 

4. The Blueprint and the central theme of Ephesians.

Here is the Blueprint of the Ephesians. A. Christian Beliefs (Chapters 1-3). B. Christian Behavior (Chapters 4-6). Watchman Nee divided the Epistle into three parts by highlighting three key action words for us to remember. 1 Our position in Christ—"SIT (1:1-3:21). 2. Our Life in the World—"Walk" (4:1-6:9) 3. Our Attitude to the Enemy—"Stand" (6:10-24).

 

The central theme of this letter is being Rooted in Love. The Key verses are Ephesians 3:17-18, "Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's Love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his Love is." 

The apostle Paul began his letter by unfolding "Seven Spiritual Blessings in Christ" to all those who believe in Him. Let's explore three of those spiritual blessings and their impact on our daily lives. Ephesians 1:1-6

Vs. 3, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." Every believer in Christ has all the benefits of knowing God—being chosen for salvation, being adopted as his children, forgiveness, insight, the gifts of the Spirit, the power to do God's will, and the hope of living with him forever. We can enjoy these blessings because we have an intimate relationship with Christ. The "heavenly realms" mean these blessings are eternal, not temporal. The blessings come from Christ from the spiritual realm, not the earthly realm of the goddess Diana, as several have believed in Ephesus. Let's see these blessings in detail.

 

I. Three Spiritual Blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:1-6)

A. We are chosen by Love to be Holy (Vs. 4)

Vs.4, "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes." In the previous weeks, we have learned that God is Love and everything He does is motivated out of Love. Here is another expression of God's Love.

In our sinful state, all of us were broken and unworthy and destined to go to hell. But because of God's great Love, He chose us. Jeremiah 31:3, "Long ago, the Lord said to Israel: "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing Love, I have drawn you to myself." Jesus told his disciples that they didn't choose Him, but He chose them. (John 15:16).

It is a blessing to be chosen by the God who is Love. Even before he made the world, he chose us to be Holy. Being holy is not being sinless but being separated from the world. God is purifying us daily, and it takes a lifetime. Yet, with all our imperfections, God sets us apart to accomplish His purposes in and through us. They are best achieved by being in God's family.

B. We have been adopted into God's family (Vs. 5)

Vs. 5, "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. He wanted to do this, and it gave him great pleasure." It's an amazing truth to know that all those who have put their faith in Christ belong to God's family.

Like how we have not chosen into which physical family we will be born, we couldn't have chosen to be part of God's spiritual family. It was God's decision and not ours to adopt us into his own family through Jesus Christ. As God's children, this is where we will grow and mature together with fellow brothers and sisters in God's family. This bond with fellow believers can be much stronger than natural family ties. Only those who believe in Christ enjoy this beautiful relationship with one another in God's family because of God's great Love for us.

C. We have been given God's glorious Grace abundantly (Vs. 6)

Vs. 6, "So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son." "To the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." (ESV). In Christ, we have been chosen by God's Love to be Holy. Through Christ, we have been adopted into God's family. In Christ the beloved, we have been blessed with God's glorious and abundant Grace. All these three rich blessings are through Christ and to those in Christ.

Our selection to be set apart for God's purposes, our adoption into God's family, and the lavishing outpouring of God's gloriously abundant Grace are all God's doing, and we did not deserve any of them. Our response should be to thank and praise God for his abundant Grace.

What does the word Grace mean? How is it experienced in one's life? Biblical Grace is the unmerited favor of God, which means getting what we don't deserve. "Out of 131 or 124 occurrences of Grace, depending on the translation in the NT, 86 are from the apostle Paul, which means two-thirds of all the uses of the word Grace in the Bible are in one author: Paul. No wonder he's called "the apostle of Grace, notes Pastor John Piper in Desiring God.[1]

Paul, for one who experienced God's Grace more than anyone else in the N.T so that He can write about it. He considers God's Grace one of the Spiritual blessings that God lavishly poured in abundance on all His children. What does God's Grace do in the life of a believer?

God's Grace frees us from sin. (Romans 6:14). It strengthens us to endure suffering and pain. (II Cor 12:9-10. It empowers us to obey God ( Acts 6:8). God's Grace gives us hope (I Peter 1:13). God's Grace is not something we earn, but God gifts Grace to all those who love Him. (Ps 84:11). We have freely received God's glorious Grace. Let's give it to others freely.   

 

 

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[1] https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-grace#:~:text=Grace%20as%20Undeserved%20Favor&text=Romans%203%3A24%3A%20%E2%80%9C%5B,free%20and%20undeserved%20by%20sinners. 

Trusting in the God Of All Comfort (GOD IS.... Part V)

                                          TRUSTING IN THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT

Last week, we learned that God is love, and all he does is motivated by His love. This assertion of truth raises questions about life with all its frustrations and troubles. One author has captured this flavor in a devotional for high schoolers titled, "If God Loves Me, Why Can't I Get My Locker Open"? [1] We may chuckle at that, but it can be a crisis for a high schooler.

What would you say to first-time parents who had a stillborn child? How would you comfort a missionary couple discovering their beautiful 16-year-old daughter diagnosed with cancer on the mission field and dying a few years after returning to their home in the USA? Or a couple who lost their child in a school shooting? These are not hypotheticals but real ones.

When facing these troubles, we are tempted to wonder, can I trust God? The question arises, "Where is God in all of this? Can we really trust God when adversity strikes and fills our lives with pain? Will He deliver us when we call on Him as promised in Psalm 50:15? Will His unfailing love surround the person who trusts Him, as Psalm 32:10 affirms? As we try to understand pain and suffering, we will learn to Trust in the God of all Comfort. II Cor 1:1-11

I. Understanding Pain and Suffering

Among many challenges that skeptics and atheists throw at Christians, perhaps the most difficult one is explaining the problem of pain and suffering. Why would a loving God allow suffering in the World? In his book 31 Days Toward Trusting God, Jerry Bridges notes, "Sometimes we experience unexpected and undesired situations filling us with anxiety, frustration, heartache and grief. God's people are not immune from such pain. In fact, it often seems as if theirs is more severe, more frequent, more unexplainable, and more deeply felt than the pain of the unbeliever. The problem of pain is as old as history and just as universal." [2]

Regarding physical pain and suffering, I can not fully grasp why a sovereign God who loves us allows such pain and heartache. I look to God's Word for some answers. We know that the ultimate cause of all pain and suffering must be traced back to the sin of Adam and Eve, which affects us and all of creation. Here are the curses God pronounced after the Fall of man.

In Genesis 3:14- 18, we read that God cursed the serpent and put enmity between it and the woman's seed. He made childbearing pains very severe for the woman. He condemned the ground and gave the man the arduous task of cultivating and living by the grains from the ground. Finally, the man and woman will die because they sinned against God.

In Romans eight, the apostle Paul recounts the effects of these curses from the Garden of Eden and explains how God would one day redeem everything. Romans 8:22, "For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

This explains why the wildfires in Maui and Canada, the historic levels of flooding by hurricane Idalia in Florida, the biblical proportions of earthquakes, and famine in several places. Experts and politicians call it "Climate change," but the Bible calls it "the earth is groaning."

 This beautiful earth is rapidly decaying. With no amount of legislation or money spent, we can not save this earth under its present condition until the Lord redeems it on the final day. If the earth is subjected to such a fateful end, how about people, including believers in Christ? Romans 8:23: "And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering."

This explains why our bodies ache with pain, our hair thins and becomes gray, and we are subjected to physical and emotional suffering. It is all because of the Fall of man. But unlike the people in the World, those who believe in Christ will receive new and glorified bodies. But in the meantime, when we go through all kinds of suffering, we wonder where God is when life hurts.

II. God is close to the brokenhearted.

            Naturally, when we go through chronic pain and suffering, we wonder, God, where are you? Why are you too far away from me? Why don't you intervene and heal and set me free? You are not alone in crying that way. Many Biblical characters, like Job and David, including Jesus, cried out to God in their suffering. Whenever I am overwhelmed with life, I often refer to this prayer of David. I am sure some of you have prayed it as well. Psalm 55:1-16

            Vs. 1-8, "Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles. My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down. My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me. Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can't stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. How quickly I would escape—far from this wild storm of hatred."

            Here, we see David going through pain and anguish. He wanted to run away and escape to a safe place where he would be free from the trouble and dangers of life. He continues to pour out his complaint, and in the end, he says to God, Vs. 16-17 "But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice."

Some of you here may be going through what David went through or even worse. Cry out to God, our loving heavenly Father, who is promised to be close to the brokenhearted and rescue those whose spirits are crushed. Psalm 34:18. God always has a purpose for the grief he allows into our lives. In James 1: 2:4, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy, for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." How could we endure our suffering?

III. Trusting in the God of all Comfort.

In the passage we read, the Apostle Paul explains what suffering does to individuals and collectively in the body of Christ and how one might endure it. The letter's context tells us that Paul went through overwhelming hardship in the province of Asia, almost to the point of death.

Paul unfolds several truths about God's character and how we can trust Him when our hearts are aching, and our bodies are racked with pain. First, we will suffer even when we do God's will, sometimes even more so because of His will. Secondly, we stop trusting ourselves but learn to trust in God, our merciful Father, and the source of all comfort.

Thirdly, remember why God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we can give them the same comfort we have received from God. Fourth, be rest assured when our troubles increase, God's comfort rises with them. Fifth, as God's children, we don't suffer alone but with others in God's family. That is why we pray and support those who go through pain and suffering in our Church family.

What does trusting in the God of all comfort mean? It means we accept our pain and suffering are from Him. It is to say, God, I don't understand why I have to go through this pain, but like David, we say and sing, "But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me." Psalm 13:5-6

No one particularly welcomes and enjoys pain and suffering, yet we all suffer and go through heartaches because we live in this fallen World. What is our consolation in our suffering, especially for being a Christian? I Peter 4:12-13, "Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the World." Amen!

 

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[1] Jerry Bridges, 31 Days Toward Trusting God, page 9

[2] Ibid., page 10