Everyone wants to be blessed by God, yet seldom do people consider the blessings He bestows on all believers. We think of blessings as material things or perfect health. We are looking at things from a carnal fleshly view. God looks at things through the eyes of eternity. In Ephesians 1:3-14 we find exciting, exuberant spiritual blessing that God gives each of us who have accepted and followed His Son. In these verses, God has blessed us abundantly and seeks our praise for all He has done. His eternal purpose is for mankind to be saved for this He is worthy to be praised.
Paul starts in verse 3 blessing God the Father who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. In Christ, we have a new way of thinking. In our way of thinking we often allow life to clutter our thinking and it robs us of our joy. We get focused on the wrong things. In Christ, we have a new purpose we go from living a life to please ourselves to a life seeking to please God. For this to happen we must be living a life that honors Him, one that others take note of, and one that makes eternal differences in the lives of others. It is important that we understand the phrase “blessed us.” He is speaking about all believers in Jesus Christ. This is a big deal because Paul was a Jew, and the Jews were God’s chosen people. The “us” is not a nation or only Jews or Gentiles. He was signifying a new way and a new design by God for eternal life. All believers were blessed with all spiritual blessings.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
In verse 4 we see that Christ chose us. He comes to everyone and convicts and offers this new way of life. He offers himself to us. In John 12:32 Jesus said he “will draw all men to Him,” and in John 14:6 He declares He is the way to the Father. What a blessing that we are all given the opportunity to come to God.
Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
Because He is all-knowing from the beginning, He knew who would accept and who would reject, but it is still our choice, and if we accept Jesus as our Savior we are adopted into the family of God. In verse 5 it was God’s good pleasure to adopt us. In verse 6 we are made acceptable. His will is to bless us, and He freely lavishes His grace on us.
Ephesians 1:5 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
The blessings keep coming in verse 7 we are redeemed! We are bought back and forgiven, forever, and completely. Hallelujah!
Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace”
In verse 8 He liberally made known to us His grace. He used great wisdom and understanding in His plan of salvation. His plan was not an afterthought when Adam and Eve sinned. He already knew they would sin, and He already knew what His plan would be to save us. It was a wise design with our end in view. He saw us, those who believe, spending eternity with Him. He allows us to know the mystery of His will. There is nothing hidden from us, here the word mystery means something to which we must be initiated before we can fully understand it. We must trust Christ and then we can understand. In John 14:26 the Holy Spirit will help us to understand all that God has for us, but those without Christ do not have the enabling of the Spirit and they cannot understand. God purposed in Himself how all these blessings were to come about and when He would reveal them to us.
Ephesians 1:8-9 “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself”
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
In verses 11-14, we are told we have an inheritance. As adopted children, we are joint heirs with Christ according to Romans 8:17. In verse 13 we are sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our pledge of complete redemption that we will spend eternity with Him. All these blessings are to His praise and His glory!
Ephesians 1:10-14 “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
No matter who you are or where you are, if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ you are assured of these blessings, as long as you are following Christ. We can know Him and His will. We can understand His word, by the indwelling of the Spirit. We are redeemed, found blameless, and adopted into His family and we have a great inheritance! We need to take time to meditate on these blessings to appreciate what God had done for us. When you do, you will experience joy unspeakable!
