The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church about the blessings God had given to them. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ …” Eph 1:3. Just exactly what are these blessings? What did Paul mean by “all spiritual blessings?” What effect would those blessings have for the Ephesian believers and for believers today?
Paul’s first clause, “Blessed be the God and Father …” is a praise to God. To bless God is to speak well of Him, to praise Him, to thank Him. Paul was stating that God is and should be praised. He should be regarded highly and spoken of with great respect and appreciation. Why? Well, He is God, the Almighty, and He has regarded us with favor. God has favored us with these “spiritual blessings;” gifts that have immeasurable value. These gifts will last beyond our physical lives. These gifts, these “spiritual blessings” are listed by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians as follows:
- We were chosen by God before the world was created. “He hath chosen us in Him [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” Eph 1:4.
- . “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will…” Eph 1:5.
- “To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Eph 1:6.
- We have redemption from the curse and hold of sin by the death of Jesus Christ. Our sins are completely forgiven. “In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” Eph 1:7.
- . “Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, … That in the dispensation of the fullness 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” Eph 1:9.
- . “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” Eph 1:11.
- . “In Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance” Eph 1:13.
We were chosen by God before the world was created (Eph 1:4)
God chose us and has made us holy and blameless by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” I John 1:7. If we are cleansed from all sin, we are holy, blameless. And, we walk in the light if we are trusting Him. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. … That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. … as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:1-14.
The writer to the Hebrews explains holy and blameless in a little more detail, “we are sanctified [made holy] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all … this man [Jesus Christ], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God [place of authority]… For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified [made holy].” Heb 10:10-14. God chose us to be holy and blameless through the sacrifice of Jesus, allowing us to have fellowship with Him. “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more [by the sacrifice of Jesus to remit our sins] …Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, … Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” Heb 10:17-22.
Another scripture illustrating the fact that we are chosen, holy, and blameless is in the letter to the Romans, “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? …I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, …shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 8:13-39.
We are adopted into His family (Eph 1:5)
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will…” Eph 1:5. We are adopted into God’s family. Moreover, it was God’s purpose to adopt us into His family. The adoption is a pleasure to Him. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13. It is the will of God for us to be sons of God. It is His will and pleasure to adopt us. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father’ [dear daddy]. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Rom 8:14-16.
That Spirit of adoption gives us the confidence that we can approach God as a dear and loving Father. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Gal 3:26. Our trust in Jesus and His atoning work is what makes us His children. “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, … to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’” Gal 4:4-6. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. …That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” Phil 2:13-15. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: … now are we the sons of God, and … we know that, … we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” I John 3:1-2. It is a great joy and comfort to know that God has taken pleasure in adopting us.
We are accepted by The Father because we have trusted the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph 1:6)
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Eph 1:6. What does it mean that we are “accepted in the beloved?” The word “accepted” means to endue with special honor, to graciously favor. The “beloved” is the one having been loved. Jesus Christ is the One having been loved by the Father, and we are in Christ when we believe in Him and His salvation. We have been given special honor to be “in Christ,” to be graciously favored by Him. “There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus …” Rom 8:1. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” II Cor 5:17. “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” II Cor 5:19. We are accepted, graciously favored, because we have believed (trusted) the salvation of God through Jesus Christ.
We have redemption from the curse and hold of sin by the death of Jesus Christ. Our sins are completely forgiven (Eph 1:7)
Our sins are completely forgiven because of the redemption from sin by the work of Jesus Christ. “Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, …But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: …Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” I Peter 1:18-21. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” I Peter 3:18. “’For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ saith the Lord; ‘I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people: … For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.’” Heb 8:10-12. “Once in the end of [purpose of] the world hath He [Jesus] appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Heb 9:26. “But this man [Jesus], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Heb 10:12-14. “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Rom 4:7-8. “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened [made alive] together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” Col 2:13. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” Col 1:13-14.
God has revealed to us the mystery of His plan and purpose for us (Eph 1:9)
God has allowed us to hear and comprehend the mystery of His will, His purpose and plan from the beginning of creation. That mystery was not known until Jesus Christ came and accomplished the purpose of God. The mystery from the beginning was that God would gather believers from all nations and races (people groups) into His family in Christ. “Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, … That in the dispensation of the fullness 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” Eph 1:9-10. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: … which none of the princes of this world knew” I Cor 2:7-8. “How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; … That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel” Eph 3:3-6. “The mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: … which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col 1:26-27. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” I Tim 3:16.
A “mystery” is something undisclosed. The Old Testament prophets saw visions of the Messiah, but not the full revelation. The full work of the Messiah was not completely disclosed or revealed to them. It was only in the completed work of the Messiah, Jesus, that the undisclosed is completely revealed (disclosed). We have been given the privilege to see and comprehend that completed and now fully disclosed plan of God reclaiming His creation and bringing us back into His family in Christ.
God has given us an eternal inheritance (Eph 1:11)
We have obtained an inheritance. There is something God has prepared for us that is ours because of the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. Paul described the commission Jesus gave him as, “ to open their eyes [eyes of Gentiles to whom Paul would be sent], and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” Acts 26:18. That inheritance is that we are in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We are adopted sons of God with all the privilege that sonship provides. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet [to make sufficiently qualified] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” Col 1:12-14.
An even better explanation of the inheritance is given by the author of the letter to the Hebrews, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause He [Jesus] is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” Heb 9:14-15. The inheritance we receive is eternal. It never goes away and the value never diminishes. Peter explains, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” I Peter 1:3-5.
God has guaranteed that inheritance by giving us His Spirit (Eph 1:13)
God has also confirmed the inheritance by endowing us with His Spirit. “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.” Eph 1:13-14. Peter declared to the Jewish rulers, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, Whom God hath given to them that obey Him.” Acts 5:30-32. Paul mentions the gift of the Holy Ghost in several places. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Rom 5:5. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you … But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. … For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Rom 8:9-15.
Jesus promised the Spirit to His followers, “But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, Which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.” John 15:26. “When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: … He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.” John 16:13-14.
These are the spiritual blessings with which God has blessed us. He has given us the ultimate good. He has:
- Chosen us in Christ before the world was created, that we would be holy and without blame (completely forgiven).
- Adopted us into His family and given us full privileges as His children.
- Accepted us because of our trust in the sacrifice and work of His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Completely forgiven our sins and rescued us from the domain of Satan.
- Disclosed the mystery that Jesus would bring salvation and forgiveness for all people groups (Jews and Gentiles).
- Given us an eternal inheritance that cannot be destroyed or depleted.
- Given us His Spirit, sealing the ultimate disposition of the eternal inheritance to those who trust God’s work and promise.
These spiritual blessings are eternal and have a value much greater than we can imagine on this earth. God is worthy to be blessed – spoken well of, praised.
Praise Him for these blessings. He is worthy to be praised and worshipped.
Thanks LORD, for these great blessings that You have given, by Your Grace.
Break the Bread 