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God has already blessed us in Jesus with every spiritual blessing.
Ephesians 1:1-6 - 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are 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 in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Can we find everything in Jesus? That depends on how mature we are in faith in Jesus. I have four young children. They believe their dad can do anything. The other day we were watching YouTube videos with men lifting heavy weights and doing extreme sports. My boys said, “Dad can do that.” When I was about their age, I thought the same about my dad. To mature is to grow in faith that there is nothing that Jesus cannot do. It requires, as Jesus said, childlike faith.
The problem is that most people don’t believe they can find everything in Jesus so they try drugs, sex, power, fame, and the promise of the American dream. They need to know that nothing will end their craving because what they really need is ready and waiting for them in Jesus. What do you crave? Do you find everything in Jesus?
As we begin our verse-by-verse study of the book of Ephesians, my desire for us is to mature in faith and find everything in Jesus because what we need is ready and waiting for us in Jesus. Ephesians 1:1-6 was written to help believers to understand that.
The big idea here is that nothing will satisfy our craving no matter what because everything we need is ready and waiting for us in Jesus. Ephesians 1:1-6 teaches by believing in three truths: God has blessed us, chosen us , and loved us in Jesus.
God Has Blessed Us in Jesus (Ephesians 1:1-3)
The apostle Paul’s greeting holds rich theology of how God has blessed us in Jesus through conversion, calling, and commitment.
First, the conversion. Conversion is always by the will of God, and always by the grace of God. No one converts anyone; it is the work of God. Paul’s greeting declares that truth in Ephesians 1:1-2, “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul calls the church in Ephesus, “saints” because no man, no work, nothing makes humans saints but God. In Greek, the word “saint” here is hagios which means “holy, set apart for the purposes of God,” therefore different from the world through His grace.
Grace in verse 2 is translated from the original word charis in Greek which means “God’s gift, His favor, and His blessing.” So, it is the work of God’s grace that sets us apart to be saved in Jesus. Grace is the divine gift that no one can earn and is only received by the supernatural enablement of the Holy Spirit that convicts our hearts of sin and converts us to the Savior, Jesus.
However, in the conversion experience, it is important to understand the will of God does not dismiss humans of their free will. Take the phrase “by the will of God” in our text. The will here, Thelema in Greek is God’s desire and His preferred will which humans can accept or reject. What does that mean?
The Word of God teaches that Jesus the Son of God came from heaven to earth and died for our sins on the cross to save us from eternal damnation and to give us eternal life. It also teaches that if we believe that in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is the Lord, we will be saved.
You can either receive this by believing or reject it by not believing. If you choose to receive Jesus, at the time of your conversion God’s grace simultaneously sends His Holy Spirit to dwell in you to help you to pursue your calling. We see that in the life of Paul, even in his greetings. So, God has blessed us in Jesus with conversion but also calling.
Second, the calling. When people talk about calling, they usually talk about their career, purpose, or meaning of life. For all born-again Christians, conversion comes with a divine calling— sharing the gospel. You are saved by grace alone, faith alone, and Christ alone but you have been called to a higher calling than any other— to save souls. It starts with telling others how Jesus saved you.
Paul says that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God but that was not his calling. His calling was to share the gospel.
The gospel is the good news that Jesus died on the cross to redeem us and restore us to God. In Galatians 1:11-24, Paul tells us that his conversion experience was followed by his calling to preach the gospel. Galatians 1:11-12 reads, “11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ…” and then in verses 15-16, Paul continues, “15 But when he [Jesus] who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” We are set apart to share the gospel. That is our calling, and like Paul, it was given to us before we were born.
Third, the commitment. Conversion comes with the calling to share the gospel, but we must pursue our calling by committing to it regardless of our circumstances. Either we believe in the gospel, or we don’t. If we do, then circumstances should not change our position in Jesus. Paul sets that example. He does it from prison and he does it with joy and peace. His unique greeting has two aspects— grace and peace— both are the works of God.
In the Old Testament, peace covers all the blessings of God for Jewish people. In the New Testament, the Greek word for “peace” is eirene which expresses the idea of peace of mind, rest, and wholeness in Jesus. It is the result of salvation. Only born-again Christians can experience that kind of peace because we are born naturally in a state of chaos and war against God. Therefore, we are at war within ourselves and with each other.
Have you ever felt angry, frustrated, and hateful toward yourself? It is because of the absence of peace. Where there is no peace, fear, confusion, and hopelessness rule. So naturally, we feel dissatisfaction with everything.
For example, how we look, what we eat, what we earn, what we wear, and where we live. We begin to compare ourselves with others. That creates even more conflict within us and now our internal lack of peace destroys peace between us and others.
However, when the source of eirene, the peace of Christ, the prince of peace, Jesus, takes the throne of our hearts and reigns over our minds and lives. He ends the war between us and God and immediately, the power of the Holy Spirit kicks in and we experience peace of mind, rest, and wholeness as if, finally, all the essential parts began to work together. This is what Paul experienced and his greetings reflect it.
Ephesians 1:3 brings all this together, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” In Greek, the word “bless,” here, is made up of two words, eu, meaning “good” and logos meaning “words.” Our English word “eulogy” comes from this Greek word. Therefore in a eulogy, we speak good words about the deceased.
In verse 3, it is used three times: once each as an adjective, a verb, and a noun because since God is the source of blessing, He is the blessed one and He blesses everyone who comes in His blessed presence.
The blessing that He blesses us with is Himself. When you have Him, you have everything. The word “blessing” in verse 3 is in the singular because all the blessings of God are summed up in one blessing— Jesus, the Son of God. This is why the whole chapter over and over again shouts in Him, that is, Jesus. The verb tense is in the past tense because God has already blessed us in Jesus with “every spiritual blessing.” All we need to do is claim our blessings in Him by inviting Him into our life.
A man came to a pastor and said, “Pastor, I truly believe in Jesus but there are times I don’t feel blessed.” The pastor replied, “Perhaps you don’t understand the meaning of being blessed in Jesus.”
Sometimes we don’t understand what it means to be blessed in Jesus because rather than looking inside at Jesus, we look outside at the world. You may be dealing with situations right now that make you feel not blessed. The point is that when you have the source of blessing, the blessed one lives in you permanently. Life circumstances can change but not your state of being blessed.
Paul in his imprisonment, his chains, his torture, his poverty, his sicknesses, his social isolation, and in all other circumstances found himself blessed because of Jesus. In other words, when he found Jesus, He found everything in Him.
Application
Just as the Roman imprisonment could bind Paul, it could not take away His peace of mind, rest, and wholeness, and therefore not take away His conversion, calling, and commitment to the gospel, either. Our circumstances can bind us, but they cannot take away the peace of Christ that surpasses all our understanding, our conversion, calling, and commitment to the gospel message if we truly understand what it means that God has blessed us in Jesus.
In Pakistan, when a woman marries into a wealthy family, their name, fame, and wealth become hers. That is the idea that permeates Ephesians 1:1-6, that the theme of in Him or in Christ in verses 3, 4, 6, 7 communicates a legal union that unites us with Christ and legally makes whatever belongs to Him ours. That is how we find everything in Jesus because God has blessed us in Him.
Action Step
Receive Jesus. God has taken the first step. The Holy Spirit brought you here to hear about grace, peace, conversion, calling, and commitment to the gospel. If you put your faith in Jesus today, you will be united in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Your step in faith will legalize the union between Christ and you. Henceforth, God would not differentiate between you and Christ because whatever belongs to Jesus will become yours by His grace. No longer will you want because you will be fully satisfied in Jesus.
Appeal
f you are a believer, trust that whatever you need is ready and waiting for you in Jesus. Do not look for some blessing or half-blessing, but go for all of it. It is yours. Don’t settle with less when you can have more. Don’t be satisfied with little when you can have it all. In Christ, you have access to God of the universe with all creation and all the treasures of the world.
To those who have never asked Jesus to come into their lives: Do not let this moment pass. Do not think if you were born in a Christian home, you are a Christian and you will go to heaven. No, that is not how this works. You have to make a decision. In other words, if you have never personally repented of your sins, and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you are not saved and you have no place in heaven.
My friend, no one can convert you. That is the work of God and by His grace, He brought you here to hear that Jesus died for your sins and that nothing will satisfy your cravings no matter what because everything you need is ready and waiting for you in Jesus. Now the decision is yours: either you can accept Jesus or reject Jesus. Unless you are born again, Jesus said you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
If you decide to accept Jesus and be born again, pray this prayer, “Jesus, today I confess I am a sinner and repent of my sins. Today, I ask you to come to my life and be my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Study Questions
1. Who is Paul, what do you know about him, and why does he say he is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” in Ephesians 1:1? Read Paul’s testimony in Galatians 1:11-24.
2. What is the blessing that Paul discusses in Ephesians 1:2 and how can God bless us in Jesus with every spiritual blessing?
3. How has God chosen believers in Ephesians 1:4 before the foundation of the world and predestined them in Ephesians 1:5?
4. In Ephesians 1:5-6, how do you understand the idea of adoption? How and why has God predestined us for adoption to Himself?
Deeper Study Questions
1. How do you bless God through praise and worship?
2. Ephesians 1:4 says that God chose us in Jesus so “that we should be holy and blameless before him.” Discuss the idea of being holy and blameless before God. Focus on your personal life individually and share how your life shows that holiness. Do other people around you witness the holy work of God in your life?
3. What role do your good works, that is, works of righteousness, play in the salvation process? Read Paul’s testimony about his own good and righteous works in Philippians 3:1-11.
4. Share your testimony of faith about how you were saved and share why you think if you die tonight you believe God will let you in His heaven.
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