Exploring Ephesians #2 - All Spiritual Blessings #2

Text: Ephesians 1:7-14

Thesis: To examine the blessings of God the Father as seen in Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Introduction:

(1)   Eph. 1:3 states that we have all spiritual blessings in Christ.

(2)   These blessings come from a 3-fold source, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

(3)   Today, we will look at the blessings in Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Discussion:

I.                   The Blessings from Jesus (vv. 7-12):

A.    ‘In Him’ refers to the Beloved (i.e., Jesus; v. 6).

B.     ‘Redemption through His blood’

1.      ‘We have’ implies “an existing reality, a present possession” (O’Brien 105).

2.      ‘Redemption’ (Gr. apolytrosis) is found 10 times in the NT (7 times used by Paul) and 1 time in the LXX OT (Dan. 4:34).

a.       The term “has its roots in the Old Testament idea of the covenant and in the language of the ancient marketplace; in both instances it involved the idea of purchasing or buying back some item or person that would otherwise be lost, taken prisoner, or destroyed” (Snodgrass 51).

b.      Story – Boy and boat who made a model boat, which we lost and later saw it in a store window … “You are twice mine now – because I made you, and because I brought you.”

3.      Price Paid: ‘His blood’

a.       Cf. 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Lev. 19:11; Heb. 9:12; Acts 20:28; Matt. 26:28

b.      “Shedding of blood is a metonym for death, which is the penalty and the price of sin” (MacArthur 21).

C.     ‘Forgiveness of sins’

1.      ‘Forgiveness’ (Gr. aphesis) means “the act of freeing from an obligation, guilt, or punishment, pardon, cancellation” (BDAG).

2.      “God’s forgiveness through Christ’s blood is not a mere covering up of our sins; it totally erases, removes, and sends them away” (Boles 207).

D.    ‘Grace … made to abound … in all wisdom and prudence’

1.      ‘Abound’ (Gr. perisseuo) means to “grant something to someone richly” (BDAG; NIV – ‘lavished’).

2.      ‘Wisdom and prudence’

a.       Do these qualify: 1) God’s action or 2) Our reception?

b.      ‘Wisdom’ (Gr. sophia) – “general intellectual understanding” (Aristotle)

c.       ‘Prudence’ (Gr. phronesis) – “more practical application” (Ibid)

E.     ‘Mystery’ (Gr. mysterion) – “means something that was kept secret until God chose to reveal it” (Boles 207).

1.      Mystery = scheme of redemption

2.      “This secret plan of His will was not given begrudgingly but with God’s pleasure” (Hoehner 215).

3.      It was revealed at the ‘fullness of the times” (cf. Gal. 4:4).

F.      ‘Obtained an inheritance’

1.      ‘Obtained’ (Gr. kleroo) – “to be appointed by lot”

2.      ‘Inheritance’ = eternal life

G.    In view of all of this, we should praise God (v. 12).

II.                The Blessings from the Holy Spirit (vv. 13-14):

A.    ‘Sealed’ (Gr. sphragizo)

1.      “A seal conveyed authenticity and ownership” (Snodgrass 54).

2.      With the Holy Spirit in us, we are “marked and authenticated as God’s heritage” (Robertson’s New Testament Word Pictures).

3.      Cf. Rom. 8:9 – mark of Christianity

B.     ‘Guarantee’ (Gr. arrabon)

1.      “Deposit” is a commercial term meaning a “down payment, a partial payment of the purchase price, which guaranteed that the full price would be paid later” (UBS New Testament Handbook Series).

2.      The word “always implies an act which engages to something bigger” (Behm 475).

3.      In Modern Greek, the term is used to refer to an engagement ring.

4.      With the Holy Spirit in us, God has guaranteed that He will one day fully redeem us (cf. 2 Cor. 5:5).

Conclusion:

(1)   God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit want you to be saved and have done all that they can do to see that you will be saved, but ultimately you must make the choice to accept this salvation.

(2)   This salvation is found in Christ. Thus, would you come to be in Him today?