Ephesians 1:7-

Chad Myhre

Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Verse by verse study through Ephesians

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WELCOME GUESTS!

Intro:

Every once in a while, we get to be in the right place, at the right time..

sometimes, by chance.. and sometimes, by choice..

Back in 2006, the Play Station 3 was released for $600

Many people made the choice, to stand in line..

.. to be one of the lucky few.. who were going to purchase a brand new Play Station 3 for nearly $600..

Why were they in the right place at the right time?

Well, most of these folks, went home, got out their digital cameras..

Took some pics…

And posted them on their ebay account.

Soon after that, some of these folks cashed in for up to $25,000.

They were in the right place, at the right time..

They were one of the 18 people in line..

They were in.. the right town.. the right store.. the right line..

They cashed in on the moronic impulses of those who have more money than brains..

And made out like bandits… ++

Now.. we learn, from the book of Ephesians..

that God is intending us to be.. in the right place at the right time..

And.. it’s not a matter of being in the right line..

Or the right town..

Or, even the right store.. ++

It has nothing to do with a temporary financial pay-off.

It has nothing to do, with anything that we can sell on ebay.. ++

As a matter of fact, it has little to nothing to do with us..

It’s not an issue of us, being dedicated to perform..

It’s not an issue of us, being all cheery and positive..

It’s not an issue of us doing the right thing, or being the right way..

It’s simply a matter of us, being in the right place.. at the right time.. ++

The right place.. is described over and over again, in Ephesians, and then also in Colossians..

As being -.. “in Christ” ++

The right time.. is and always will be: “now”.

Paul is letting us know.. that we are privileged beyond belief..

Not because we have earned anything..

But, simply because: we are IN CHRIST.. ++

Now, most of us know this, but let’s review.. for a moment.. just so we understand what it means.. to be “in Christ” ++

How do we get there?

How do we get ourselves in this place of amazing privilege?

If we look back, 2 verses.. to vs. 5..

.. we see, that adoption is an issue..

We are adopted into this family with Christ.. ++

(NKJV)

Romans 8:15–17 ESV

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

15 For syou did not receive the spirit of bondage again tto fear, but you received the uSpirit of adoption by whom we cry out, v“Abba, 5Father.” 16 wThe Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then xheirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, yif indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Now.. adoption is not really, how we get into the family..

No.. there’s a bigger picture being displayed here..

We come into the family, as a purchased slave.. ++

But, our standing.. our position.. our benefit in the family..

Is that, of an adopted son or daughter. ++

Vs. 7 says, we have redemption..

which means.. we have been redeemed.. or literally, we have been, bought back.. – a payment had been made...

He told us.. in and ..

We’ve been bought.. at a price.. ++

How do we get to the right place and the right time? How did we get to be “in Christ”? ++

We are bought. He has purchased us..

Unto ownership? NO, not really, for all things are His.. He made it all and claims the rights to all things..

God already owns everything.. – the element of our purchase.. goes way deeper than that… ++

.. He has purchased us.. into a place.. of debt-free acceptance..

The simple economy of God is this:

He created us.. for a purpose..

To worship Him, and have fellowship with Him..

That’s what we owe Him.

He made us for that purpose.. ++

But.. on our own..

We can’t pay up. We can not give, what we owe..

Adam and Eve saw to that..

They allowed a defect to come into their lives.. and into the lives of all their descendants.. ++

Our defect..

Is sin..

And, instead of having a perfect, innocent, holy nature… - a falling short broken condition called sin… is our nature..

Sin…

A word which simply means..

“falling short, of perfection” ++

Any thing, that falls short of perfection.. is sin..

Yes, murder and rape and adultery.. sure, those things are sin..

Because.. they fall short of perfect behavior..

But, the most literal idea of sin..

Has to do with those deeds.. those good works.. those endeavors to do good works and happy things..

We strive to do that which is good and right.. ++

But what happens?

We can’t do it.

We can’t attain perfection….

We slip.. we fall.. we integrate improper motive.. ++

So.. because of this.. we can’t pay-up, we can’t fulfill the purpose of our creation..

God is holy, and will not bear the presence of sin..

We owe Him, our fellowship and our worship..

But.. we can’t pay, what we owe.. ++

In fact.. tells us, that we were “slaves of sin”.. - we were born into it, whether we like it or not.. and there’s only one way to get out of that place of slavery..

We need to be.. purchased… ++

So what has God done?

He has taken our debt, our un-payable debt..

And on our behalf.. he paid it.

You see..

God has been showing us, all throughout the O.T.

That His manner of dealing with sin.. is wrath..

He pours out His wrath.. on sin..

So.. our sins merited payment..

Our sins.. needed to receive, the wrath of God..

That’s part of His economy.. ++

But.. God paid it..

He has already poured His wrath out on our sin.. even the shortcomings, transgressions and dirty-deeds of the future..

.. already taken care of.. already paid for…

That’s what happened on the cross.. ++

Christ took upon Himself.. all our imperfections..

All our bad deeds..

All our good attempts…

And there, the debt was paid..

The purchase was made.. ++

That’s how we get to be, in the right place, at the right time.

That’s how we get to be “in Christ” ++

We are purchased. Christ has purchased us back to a place of fellowship with God..

And that gift.. of restoration.. of forgiveness..

Is not pushed upon us..

No.. it’s offered to us..

As a gift.. ++

We receive it..

And we are in..

That’s how we get there..

And then, this is how we stand there.. ++

As adopted sons and daughters.. as “co-heirs” with Christ..

This is our new position. It is a place of privilege and honor.. We are “adopted in”.. ++

and remember, Paul wrote these words to a people who were steeped in the thinking of Roman culture. He was speaking their language.

… and what did the Roman world think of adoption? They though highly of it. Adoptive children had full family rights.

We were slaves, God purchased us out of that slavery, and we were given the full rights of sons and daughters.

-We were in the right place at the right time.

This is a big deal, and Paul is going to drive it home..

Right here.. in ..

Ephesians 1:7–8 ESV

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

There are many forms of redemption in the world..

from lottery tickets.. to pop cans..

But here, the word redemption is literally rendered:

“the redemption” ++

The original language is not speaking of a general redemption..

It is speaking of “the redemption”

This is the big one..

This is the ultimate redemption.. ++

In America..

We have hundreds of thousands of company and organization presidents..

But when we say, “the president”

It only refers to one position. ++

We are going to learn on Wednesday night, that the OT uses the word Elohim to speak of many different kinds of beings who dwell in the heavenly realm.

But when the Bible writers use the general title, that is Elohim, as a name… or when they say, Elohim above all Elohim..

We know.. it is only speaking of one being… and that is our God, Yahweh..

Here, in … we are learning about ‘the redemption..

That’s what this redemption is.. it’s.. “the redemption”

The biggest and most significant.. of all.

The redemption.. is defined in a moment.. ++

but first, we get the method..

“we have redemption through His blood”

Telling us.. how the buy-back happened..

Telling us, the manner in which we were purchased from our slavery.

It was through, His blood.

Romans 5:8–11 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

(NKJV)

8 But lGod demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified mby His blood, we shall be saved nfrom wrath through Him. 10 For oif when we were enemies pwe were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved qby His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rrejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

The Bible, and science tells us, that life is in the blood..

For us, we have life, because the blood is doing it’s job,

To keep the vital agents of life floating around in our body.. ++

In Christ..

We have this..

Life… His life.. and not only, in a spiritual sense, have we been washed by the blood..

But, more practically, in a spiritual sense..

We are actually.. covered by the blood. ++

When God looks upon us..

He sees.. a covering..

The blood of Christ..

He sees.. the life, that’s in the blood..

Not our life..

But the life, of Christ.. ++

In that blood.. God sees, the holiness.. the righteousness and the goodness of Christ..

And that recognition.. is extended to us.. ++

Well, in the second half of vs. 7.. the redemption is explained..

here’s what it means.. to be bought back to Christ..

simply this:

“the forgiveness of sins” ++

Hey.. we can’t attain forgiveness.. we have fallen short.. we have done bad, vile and wicked things…

And God tells us..

It’s okay..

All that, is gone..

All that.. is washed away..

We are rendered.. before God as being: forgiven.. holy.. and righteous. ++

Now.. at this point.. we who are rational might ask..

What’s the catch???.

Surely, if God is going to do something this big for us..

That He must be demanding something pretty big in return.. ++

But He goes on to explain.. ..

That this gift.. was “according to”

..the riches of His grace.. ++

Grace is, of course..

Unmerited favor..

And God is rich… in His ability.. to extend this to us..

What is God demanding from us?

Nothing.. ++

He’s given us redemption.. freely..

The law.. demands..

But grace.. encourages..

The law demand obedience...

but grace… produces obedience… it encourages.. service.. worship.. good deeds.. and obedience..

Ephesians 1:9–10 ESV

9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

The privileges of being in Christ continue to mount up..

For now, we are learning, that a great mystery has been revealed to us..

Something, that was unknown previously.. has been revealed.. ++

In Jesus, we have truth, that transforms the intentions of the law..

Truth that transforms.. the demands.. the practices.. the rituals.. and the sacrifices..

We have truth, that sets people free.. and reckons them as being good and true in the presence of God.. ++

We have truth, concerning the Messiah..

Who He is, and what He has done.. ++

For centuries.. mankind was locked outside of this treasure-chest of abounding grace..

But now.. it’s been revealed..

And as the previous verse states..

In God’s wisdom and good sense.. this grace.. this good stuff.. this revelation… abounds toward us. ++

It was interesting to be reminded of the manner in which the church has dealt with the grace of God..

i’ve taught a church history class a few times…

And it’s amazing to see.. how people continually try to mess up God’s good plan.. ++

How, time and time again, the truth that is revealed in the Bible..

Was hidden from man..

And it was replaced.. with laws and rituals..

It was replaced.. with the self serving instructions that were laid out by the church leaders.. ++

God had revealed His great mystery..

But man, in the name of the church..

Did all that He could do.. to hide it from the people.. ++

By doing so..

The dominant church.. was able to tax the people several different ways..

They were able to hold people in a place of Biblical ignorance..

They were able to create systems of self exaltation.. power and ultimately, massive corruption… ++

God raised up several different waves of reformation..

Those who opposed the un-Biblical practices..

Those who opposed the manipulation

Those who felt like the Bible should be available to all, in their own language..

Those who felt, that all men are equal..

And ultimately.. the mysteries were set free again, from man’s attempt to keep them hidden.. ++

I think it’s pretty cool.. that the revelation of mystery.. is according to His good pleasure..

Which tells me..

That as I learn more about God.. and about God’s plan…

.. God.. is pleased.. ++

He finds pleasure and satisfaction in my learning… about Him..

Want to make God happy?

Learn more about Him.

It’s a simple relationship fact..

The more we learn about one another..

The more fruitful our relationships will come..

The more intimate our conversation and interaction will be..

Because we understand.. more and more .. how the other person works…

And this is the same desire that God has for us.. ++

Learn more about Him..

Uncover more mysteries about Him..

Dig deeper into His Word..

And don’t grow content.. with the status quo…. ++

In vs. 10.. the privilege of our faith looks into the future..

It has previously looked back..

For our predestination.. was determined.. according to foreknowledge..

… before the foundations of time.. ++

And now.. we’re looking forward..

Into the culmination of something that has already started..

The fullness of time.. ++

We learn.. that Christ came.. in the fullness of time..

… according to the prophetic time-line..

He came.. and presented to us.. the means of eternal life..

Eventually.. He’s going to gather.. all things in Christ.. ++

When?

“when the plan, for the fullness of time is played out”

ESV uses the word ‘plan’… but other translations use the word, ‘dispensation’. ++

++ ++

That word “dispensation” means: administration.. or “management”

When this time frame, is fully managed.. fully administrated..

We will see, a restored order.. a divine unity..

A harmony, of all things, that are of Christ… ++

Ephesians 1:11–12 ESV

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Verse 11 could be translated two different ways..

Either.. we “have” an inheritance..

Or.. we “are” an inheritance..

The cool thing is.. both work.. ++

In , it says:

(NKJV)

1 Peter 1:3–4 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

3 hBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who iaccording to His abundant mercy jhas begotten us again to a living hope kthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance 2incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, lreserved in heaven for you, [1]

The context of this passage in Ephesians.. leans more towards us “being” the inheritance..

For it goes on to define the inheritance as :

..we, being to the praise of His glory… ++

Meaning.. that Jesus receives us, as His inheritance… eternally in His presence.. as being pleasing to Him..

In , and … and in many other places, Israel was told, that Yahweh was their inheritance. When Moses described the division at Babel in … he said that Israel would be God’s portion... - I believe this stands for us too..

GOD IS OUR INHERITANCE..

And we, are His inheritance…

When D ++

If we are His inheritance,

But we’ve already discussed inheritance.. in a different way..

In , we are reminded… that we are join heirs with Christ.

What does all this means?

We can’t forget.. that we will share in that inheritance with Him..

For don’t forget.. we’ve been adopted into the heavenly family..

It means… that God has more to offer us, as members of His family… than anything the world can offer apart from Him.

And we’ve been made out ot be: () – Joint heirs with Christ.

It means… Good things are in store… ++

The way I see it, I figure.. it’s all going to be good.

Conclusion..

And that’s been the message so far.. in ..

It’s all good..

We’re moving slowly through it..

Because we don’t like to rush through the good stuff..

If we are getting blessed.. we want to know.. every little part of what that means.. ++

We want to know..

That we’ve been loved.. chosen and desired by God.. since the beginning of time..

That we have been blessed, with every spiritual blessing.. in the heavenly places.. w/X ++

That we have been reckoned.. through the gift of forgiveness..

..to be.. holy and w/o blame before Him… ++

That we come into Christ by redemption..

Meaning.. He purchased us out of the slavery, that is unto sin..

And adopted us.. into the family.. as co-heirs w/Christ.. ++

But not only that..

There is yet a glorious future.. that is to be fulfilled..

That we… can plan on being part of..

For those of us.. who are in Christ..

We should be able to find excitement in this.. ++

It’s all good..

.. we have been truly.. set free..

We are .. abundantly.. free.. liberated.. ++

Maybe you missed out on that one time opportunity to buy that thing that people were going spend big money for on eBay..

But this is a bigger opportunity..

Now, is the right time, and the right place, to become an adopted child… in Christ.

If you have never given your life to Him… and are still lost in that condition of sin that you inherited from Adam and Eve…

… God offers you, by His abundant grace…

To receive the gift.. the forgiveness.. the benefit.. and the blessing..

To know.. that with God… all is good.. for now, and forever..

The price has already been paid.. and we did not, can not and will not, ever be “too bad” for God to receive us. ++

He knows all the bad, and has known it always..

He knew it intimately, as it was paid, on the cross..

And yet, until we pray in faith, to receive that gift of forgiveness…

We still remain separated.. by our offense. ++

Salvation is received… through the means, of a simple prayer of faith. God gives you the faith to pray it, and you will know, that God is impressing this upon you.

I encourage you..

If it’s your time.. to make a commitment to the Lord..

We don’t give our lives to God, because of guilt, fear or compulsion… we do it, because the HS convinces our hearts, and gives us the faith to believe..

Come forward as we sing..

End.

If that’s you, in invite you to pray with me, as we close.

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[1] The New King James Version. 1996, c1982. Thomas Nelson: Nashville

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