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To The Praise of His Glorious Grace

 

(Ephesians 1:3-14, NIV)

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. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 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, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

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.

Why do we praise God? Can we praise God without context, outside the confines of our situation?

Ephesians 1:3–14 is one long sentence (of 202 words)

1. Praise - to God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Praise Him not only for who He is, but mercifully, also for what He has given us - His spiritual blessings
2. Every spiritual blessing - The blessings that Paul is going to take about are spiritual in nature, and are obtained by God's saving act through Christ Jesus and are beneficial for a life led in and by the Holy Spirit, as we shall see. The word ‘every’ is comprehensive and symbolizes nothing that is lacking.
3. In Christ - This phrase (along with 'in him'/'whom') appears eleven times in this paragraph. Mark it down. The blessings come to us not only through the work of Christ, but also because we are found in him.
4. Heavenly realms - An expression exclusive to Ephesians. It is also found in Eph 1:20 "he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms" Eph 2:6 "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" Eph 3:10 "through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms." Eph 6:12 "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

So the blessings of salvation are not just future, they have already been given to us in the present.

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship n through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Praise be to God for our election and adoption

1. He chose us - just like He chose Abraham out of Ur into the promise, like He chose Jacob to father a nation, like He chose Moses when he was running after sheep in the desert and asked him to shepherd the Lord's people, like He chose David from the pasture to become the king who would be a type of the Messiah to come, in that same way, He has chosen you and me, us, a community. It is always the initiative of God to choose.
2. He chose us in Him before the creation of the world- God did not choose us in a vacuum; He chose us in Christ Jesus. On the mount of transfiguration, the voice of God boomed "This is my Son, whom I have chosen, in whom I am well pleased" Jesus Christ is the Chosen One - FF Bruce calls Him the chosen one par excellence, the premier choice of God. God does not, and never has, chosen anyone to be among his people apart from and through Christ. Before there was even a speck of the universe, before the first star was hung in a galaxy, we were chosen in Him, so we have nothing to boast or claim apart from His grace.
3. He has chosen us to be holy and blameless in His sight - God has chosen us with purpose; we who were once separate from God, are now chosen to be holy, to be set apart for God; chosen to be blameless, to be seen as without blemish in His sight, for the blood of Christ has washed away the stain of sin from us

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

In Jesus Christ, God has predestined us to adoption as his sons and daughters into His family. The choice of verse 4 is described in the terms of intimate relationship.
The cultural connotation of adoption:
- Adoption to a new family (of God), to a community
- Adoption to a new intimate relationship with God as Father. 'Sons of disobedience' and the 'children of wrath' (Eph 2) now have the privilege to be called the children of God
- Adoption to a new identity. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

We are adopted in Jesus Christ. By the work of Him, who is The Son of God, we can now be called the sons of God. All of this is done in accordance with his will, in the sovereign purpose of God but also His pleasure. God delights in what He has done in you and me, what He has done for us. God is not a schemer. His plans, and consequently his children, bring him delight and joy.

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves

We associate glory with God, but here His grace is revealed to be glorious as well. Grace is not just something that God gives but it is in the very nature of God that He is gracious. And he freely gives, he is lavish with it, to all those in Christ Jesus. So God and His grace is worthy of praise

7 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.

Praise God for our redemption from sin through His Son

1. In Him - In Jesus Christ
2. Redemption - Now a Christian word only, but it is an economic word.
3. We were slaves to sin, both to the curse of sin which made us sinners by nature, and to the bondage of sin, which made us sinners by choice.
4. In our sin, we were separate from God and enemies of God. We had to be redeemed from our slavery and had to be bought with a price.
5. The price of our redemption was paid by Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice that was the violent death on the cross of Calvary where His precious blood was shed for us. He redeemed us, who were little better than demons by becoming a little lower than the angels, and by His death, we have God's forgiveness of our sins, and we are no longer aliens to God.
6. And all of this is in keeping with the riches of God's grace that He has lavished on us. Our God is a rich God, and He is richest in grace.

With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Praise God for the revelation of His mystery

1. Mystery - Not a whodunit, or a secret.
2. In the NT, the term mystery is commonly used to refer to something that was previously hidden from our understanding but is now revealed by God. So in Romans 16:25 and Col 1:26, Paul talks about the mystery of the gospel which was hidden for long ages past but now has been revealed to God's people.
3. The key that unlocks the mystery is Jesus Christ. A simple example is when we read the Bible, how we can comprehend the OT passages that refer to Christ, which were previously hidden from us. But what we have here is nothing less than the revelation of the mind of God himself through His word, which is a great manifestation of His grace to us. God could have not told us all this and still accomplished His purposes, but He has chosen to make His mind known to us.
4. What is this mystery? In the NT itself, we read about the mystery of the kingdom of God, the mystery of the gospel, the mystery of the grace of God being made available to both Jews and Gentiles through Jesus Christ, in Eph 5, the mystery of the church. These are all mysteries. But there is one ultimate, supreme mystery.
5. In verse 10, we read that God's plan in the fullness of time is to unite all things in heaven and on earth in Jesus Christ. More than a simple notion of unity, what the word translated unity really means is as if it is to sum up, to bring something to a single point.
6. So what does sum up all things in heaven and on earth in Christ mean? Simply put, it means this. Col 1:15-17 says “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
7. You see, the ultimate end of the gospel, of history, and of the universe itself is not an event, not a destination, but a person, Jesus. God's grand purpose for us and all of creation, is to be reconciled and reunited in Christ.
8. This is the very mind of God that has now been revealed to us by His grace, to the praise of His grace. 1 Peter 1:10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
9. What a privilege it is to be on the right side of the dividing line of history, the cross, so that the very mind of God is now known to us

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

1. In him we were also chosen or we have obtained an inheritance - the word chosen/inheritance means to appoint or choose by lot, and it really means that we are God's portion, His inheritance. The idea comes from the song of Moses in Deut 32:9 where Moses says that "For the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.” So we are God's inheritance and His portion
2. But who is the ‘we’ here? We who were the first to hope in Christ points to the Jewish people of whom Paul is a member.
3. But fear not, because in v. 13 there is a 'you also'. The gospel of Jesus Christ has now enabled all people to have access to God and to have a claim in the portion of God. So, we and you together us, are God's chosen portion because of the work of Jesus Christ. We like to put up barriers between ourselves but He himself is our peace, he has destroyed the barrier of hostility and made us one. True unity comes only through Christ.
4. When we believed, and became God's portion, he marked us with a seal, a stamp, a unique imprint to signify that we are His. And that seal is the promised Holy Spirit. So we see the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit all actively working in the life of the believer.
5. The Holy Spirit is not just a seal, but also a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance - a guarantee of our future inheritance which is the glorious lives we will have when we go to be home with our Lord in the age to come - when He will come to redeem those who are His possession.
6. The Holy Spirit is not just a guarantee, but in a way, a small foretaste of all the blessings we will enjoy then. For our everlasting life has already started and the Spirit has empowered us in a way that is impossible with man.

Conclusion

1. Why does God demand our praise? He is not a Twitter hound.
2. God’s initiative to make us praise Him is a mark of tremendous grace. He does not just demand it but also gives us why we should praise Him.
3. Prayer and worship is too self-centered.
4. We need to get rid of the self, and come back to God.
5. Refocus, re-orient, rededicate
6. Refocus on God
7. Reorient ourselves around His spiritual blessings, to affirm our identity in Christ, to celebrate our redemption, to cherish His revealed mystery and to live in the hope of His inheritance.
8. Rededicate our lives to God and the church. The blessings of God are given to His community. He has chosen us, adopted us, redeemed us, revealed His mystery to us, given us the hope of His inheritance, and we are His portion. The church is God’s greatest gift to the world, and it is within this community that He has chosen to make His blessings and powers known.
9. A community that praises God strengthens the church. A community that has forgotten to praise will find church to be an inconvenience.