Praise God! (Part 2) Ephesians 1:6-10 Series: Ephesians [#2] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl Date: April 1, 2007 Theme: Praise God For Your Spiritual Blessings.

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1 Praise God! (Part 2) Ephesians 1:6-10 Series: Ephesians [#2] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl Date: April 1, 2007 Theme: Praise God For Your Spiritual Blessings. Introduction This morning is our second week in the book of Ephesians. And it is our second of three looks at 1:1-14. The apostle Paul wrote this letter from prison in Rome in the year 61 or 62 to believers in this large, politically and commercially important city. He wrote to encourage, instruct, challenge and inspire those believers and that is God s purpose for this book to us also. The opening section is a grand exclamation of praise. The key verse to this section is 1:3, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Paul s message here is Praise God! Specifically, Praise God for your spiritual blessings. Today we see more of the reasons why Paul was praising God, and why should be praising God. Verses 6-10 revolve around God s great grace. God Has Showered You With His Grace. In verse six Paul tells us that God s choosing believers was to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us (or, graced to us ) in the Beloved [Jesus Christ]. Grace is one of the most familiar and beautiful words in Christian vocabulary, but it is not always clearly understood. The Old Testament term for grace originally had the idea of bowing or bending down. From there it moved to reaching out or down to one who is lower than yourself, or to one who does not deserve it. Bowing down before someone with a higher position or rank was woven through the fabric of the culture in the Middle East. And so came the core of the idea of extending something good that is not deserved. God s grace then, is His reaching down to us with favor we have not earned and do not deserve. Now the New Testament term for grace has a bit different background. The root idea behind it was the idea of being attractive or beautiful. Then it developed to mean beautiful in the sense of good will or favor being given to someone. God s grace is God beautifully stooping down in love to us who, in our sinfulness, do not deserve His love, His goodness, His blessings. Yet He gives it to us as His free gift.

2 God s grace, however, is not without cost. Listen to this summary, from Paul s letter to the church at Philippi, [Christ], although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (2:6-8) Eternal God the Son became one of us we celebrate that at Christmas. He came as truly God and truly man the only perfect One who was able to pay the cost, to atone for our sin. He became one of us to die for us we celebrate that this next week on Good Friday. He was betrayed by one of His inner circle. He was run through a series of sham trials. He was ridiculed, spat on, hit, scourged with a whip with either metal or bone fragments at the ends of its many strands a punishment many did not survive. And then He was crucified. Nails were driven through his hands to the rough wooden beam and another through his feet to the post. When it was hoisted upright there was the excruciating, throbbing pain, and gasping for breath. Finally the most intense suffering: the moment when He, our perfect sacrificial lamb, He who knew no sin, was made sin for you and me. All of my sin, all of your sin, all the sin of the world was placed on Him. His greatest pain was in those moments when His perfect, eternally constant fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit was broken because of our sin. God s grace is undeserved, is given freely, but with immeasurable cost. As unbelievable as it may seem that God offers His grace to us, that is only the beginning. For Paul tells us that God has showered His grace upon us. God gives us His grace freely in the Beloved [Christ] (6). And, He gives it to us according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us (7 b - 8 a). God has a limitless treasure of grace which He has generously, extravagantly, lavishly showered upon each and every believer at the day of salvation and then He continues to shower us with His grace every day of our lives! Are you seeing more of why Paul burst out in praise at the beginning of this statement, Blessed be [Praise to] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ! Yes, Praise God for your spiritual blessings! Now let s look at two ways in which God has lavishly showered believers with His grace. 2

3 God s Grace Redeemed You. Consider the picture of redemption we have here. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (7-8) There are a number of different New Testament words that are translated in English as redemption. The word used here [apolutrosis] had the basic idea to loose, to set free, to deliver, by paying a price or ransom. The family of terms from which this term comes was used broadly referring to ransoming from debt or other obligations, and also of slaves. The Ephesians were very familiar with salves and slavery. It is estimated that there were up to 7 million slaves in the Roman empire in the first century. Salves were property. They were bought and sold, used and abused. They were valuable in the economy, but their lives were not highly valued. Sometimes a slave would be redeemed the price would be paid and the salve would be bought out of slavery and given freedom. This same word is in Romans 3:23-24, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by [God s] grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Let s zero in on the spiritual reality of redemption. Romans 6 tells us we were born as slaves to sin (17), as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness (19). By birth, by nature, we need redemption from, to be freed from the chains, the bondage, the slavery of sin. But, because God s standard is absolute holiness and because we are sinful, our most sincere and best efforts cannot pay the price. We cannot set ourselves free. Jesus Christ paid the price, the ransom, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin (6). so that we would be fully, totally redeemed, set free. This is God s redemption. Think about the grace of redemption. Verses 7 and 8 tell us our redemption is according to the riches of [God s] grace God s limitless grace; in Him [Jesus]; through His blood His life was the price. As Peter wrote, you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19) Be very clear on this without God s grace there is no redemption for me or for you or for anyone. The story is told of Young Sang, the prime minister of the first emperor in China. As Prime Minister he enacted many strict laws with cruel punishments. His firm administra- 3

4 tion made the government prosperous and powerful, and it soon become the first united empire of China. The first emperor s successor earlier had suffered from those cruel punishments, and now he wanted revenge. Young had to head for hills or meet a cruel, painful death. He used a false name to check into an inn, but the innkeeper insisted on identification, as Young s own law required. Young has discovered. He pled for mercy. But the innkeeper knew the extreme punishment for not reporting, and he reported the former prime minister. Young Sang was turned in and sentenced to death a victim of his own tough uncompromising laws. He could not redeem himself. And there was no grace for him. No one was both willing and able to pay the price. When it comes to sin which excludes us from life with God, without God s grace there is no redemption for us. But there is grace from God because Jesus paid the price. Praise God for His grace in redemption! God s Grace Revealed The Mystery Of His Will. The mystery of God s will. Paul describes the riches of God s grace, that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (8-10) When most people hear the word mystery they think of a puzzle, of something difficult to figure out, e.g., a murder mystery. The word mystery in the New Testament has a different meaning. It is not a puzzle. It is not something that is difficult to decipher or to understand. Rather, it simply means something not previously known or understood. So, what is this new knowledge or understanding that God revealed? That God will sum up, that He will bring to completion all things, and that He will do it in Jesus Christ. Sin has effected all of our world every person, every aspect of creation is stamped with its imprint. But a day is coming when all that will be changed. The day referred to here as the fullness of the times. It is when God will blend time back into eternity and then all will be harmonious and holy, all will be love and peace. And this will be in and by Jesus Christ! People in every generation have thought about and longed for such a day. Countless theories have been devised about how this can or could be brought about. In fact, Romans 8:20-22 tells us, Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God s curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. [New Living Translation] 4

5 So, it should be no surprise that the Greeks took up the challenge to think how this could come about. It is from them that we get the word often used to describe this longed-for state, Utopia. And you may well know that word literally means nowhere. Nowhere to be found; not possible. Such is the reality of the cumulation, the distillation of people s bests ideas and efforts for a perfect society nowhere to be found; not possible. The great and wonderful truth of God summing up all things in Christ is a mystery that is it was not known until Christ came and it still is not known and understood by those outside the family of God. This great truth, this great revelation is tied to God s grace. What is the source of this all wisdom and insight (8) which reveals how all things will be summed up, brought together in Jesus Christ? God. How has this knowledge come to us? It has been revealed by God s grace, His marvellous, infinite, matchless grace which He has showered on us (8). Yes, God stooped down to us who do not and cannot deserve His life and favor, and lavished His grace upon us. We know things will not always be as they are now. We know evil and sin will come to an end and be punished. We know we will live with God forever and there will no longer be any limitations, evil, sin, sickness and death. Conclusion. Praise God! Praise God for your spiritual blessings! Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. How do we respond to God s grace? First of all, some of us have never really opened our hearts to God and His grace, His understanding, His redemption. The reasons people give are many they could exceed the largest computer storage available or imagined. Some say they don t need God and His grace. Others are trying get it the old fashioned way, by trying to earn it. Yet others delay and procrastinate, make it complicated with excuses, spin out questions to avoid deciding to receive or refuse God s grace. Most of this goes back to pride, which takes a myriad of different forms, whether it is skepticism with its never ending questions; or, self-sufficiency I m okay on my own, I don t need God; or, stubbornness I ll do it my way in my own time It all boils down to pride. 5

6 Today God says to you, Come to Me, receive my grace, receive the truth, receive My forgiveness and redemption. Be set free! Receive the life and hope I have for you. Then, for those who have received God s grace in Christ, who are believers, who have been redeemed, have been set free. God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ your salvation is full and complete; Jesus bridged the great chasm between you and God, and He did it completely, fully and forever. there is nothing that can be added to it by any experience or work. The question is, Am I living in what God has provided and already given to me? Is my hope fixed on that day when God will sum up all things in Christ? Am I living in the full benefits of my redemption in Christ? Believe God s truth; reject Satan s lies about yourself and who you now are in Jesus Christ. Live every day with praise to God for His wonderful grace. Throughout each day and every situation, Praise God for your spiritual blessings. Now in the next few quiet moments, respond to what God has been showing you. 2007, Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotation taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois All rights reserved. 6