We Have Been Pawned

In the beginning, God created a perfect and beautiful creation of paradise called Earth. In this paradise he placed his most beloved creation, man. In chapter 3 of Genesis, this all changed when the devil deceived Adam and Eve. Sin came into paradise and stole humanity away and pawned us in this cosmic pawn shop with the only hope of inheriting bondage, pain, corruption, death, and eternal nothingness.

Titus 3:3 MEV

3 We also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various desires and pleasures, living in evil and envy, filled with hatred and hating each other.

Titus 3:3–7 MEV

We also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various desires and pleasures, living in evil and envy, filled with hatred and hating each other. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

We were stolen and pawned off into foolishness. We were pawned into disobedience, lies, lust, evil, and hate.

3 *We also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various desires and pleasures, living in evil and envy, filled with hatred and hating each other. 4 *But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, 5 *not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 *whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 *so that, being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

This is our natural state of depravity. We are broken and far removed from the nature God had originally intended for us.

Paul confirms the depraved reality of us being stolen away and pawned

Titus 3:3–7 MEV

Ephesians 2:1–3 MEV

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the age of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among them we all also once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Ephesians 2:1

We have been stolen and pawned into death and hopelessness

We have been stolen and sold into the struggles and lies of addiction, the flesh, mental illness, and the inability to be forgiven by God or to forgive ourselves.

4 *But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 *even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Our minds are broken and our desires are twisted; therefore, our relationships and our very lives are broken.

Because of this broken state we are in, we believe there is something that will fix us or make us happy, so we chase drugs/alcohol, unhealthy relationships, we live in fear, or or we get more stuff just to find our lives spiraling further into chaos, further into death, and further into hopelessness.

As C.S. Lewis once said:

Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy. C.S. Lewis

God Has Our Pawn Ticket and He Has Our Adoption Papers. He IS Our Way Out!

Ephesians 2:4–5 MEV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

We were stolen, pawned off, and given up for adoption into a bleak and broken human condition, but God gives a gracious and merciful response to to this broken life we find ourselves in through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross!

Ephesians 1:3–14 MEV

3 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, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, which are in heaven and on earth. 11 In Him also we have received an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will, 12 that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, should live for the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and after believing in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1 MEV

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, which are in heaven and on earth. In Him also we have received an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will, that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, should live for the praise of His glory. In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and after believing in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Therefore I also, after hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers, so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He performed in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principalities, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet and made Him the head over all things for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all things in all ways.

Eph 1:3

Modern English Version Chapter 1

3 *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, 4 *just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; 5 *He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 *to the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 *In Him we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight, 9 *making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, 10 *as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, which are in heaven and on earth.

11 *In Him also we have received an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will, 12 *that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, should live for the praise of His glory. 13 *In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and after believing in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 *who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

It is the will of Jesus, who is God, to adopt us as His children and heirs to inherit His Kingdom.

We are redeemed. We have been bought. Our pawn debt has been paid and forgiveness of our sins has been purchased through the blood of Jesus based on His grace and His mercy, and based on nothing we could ever do.

In Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God and now have the legal right to what calls

1 Peter 1:4 MEV

4 to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you,

4. Because of our faith in Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit who seals us and stamps us as possessions in a pawn shop as SOLD

5. Because we are stamped with a sold sticker as redeemed bought and paid for, we have the guarantee of salvation and the incorruptible and undefiled inheritance of Heaven

Because we are stamped with a sold sticker as redeemed bought and paid for, we have the guarantee of salvation and the incorruptible and undefiled inheritance of Heaven

This inheritance is incorruptible/preserved by grace and undefiled/protected by mercy

6. This inheritance is incorruptible/preserved by grace and undefiled/protected by mercy

7. These legal transactions of redemption and adoption gives us the hope of eternal life and the promise of

Revelation 21:4 MEV

4 ‘God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death.’ Neither shall there be any more sorrow nor crying nor pain, for the former things have passed away.”

John 3:16 MEV

16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Rev 3:23

Application

Ephesians 1 MEV

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 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, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, which are in heaven and on earth. 11 In Him also we have received an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will, 12 that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, should live for the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and after believing in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. 15 Therefore I also, after hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers, 17 so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, 20 which He performed in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principalities, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet and made Him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all things in all ways.

Holman New Testament Commentary: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians Applications

• Rest in God’s love, which is expressed in his offer of complete salvation.

• Because of all God has done for you, see yourself as someone very significant.

• Enjoy the fact that you belong to God. You belong to the family of God, and when you get to heaven, you will belong there, too.

• Be grateful that God has forgiven your sin and given you eternal life.

• Thank God that he took the initiative in your relationship with him.

Invitation

Rev3:23

Revelation 3:21 MEV

21 “To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Reve 3:23

Revelations 3:21

Modern English Version, Thinline Edition. (Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014), .

Related Media

Related Sermons