The Reason Ephesians 1:1-14 Adapted from a Jim Black sermon http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=53852

1. Adapted from a Jim Black sermon
http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.
asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=53852

2. During one of Theodore Roosevelt's
political campaigns, a delegation called on
him at his home in Oyster Bay, Long Island.
The President met them with his coat off
and his sleeves rolled up.
"Ah, gentlemen," he said, "come down to
the barn and we will talk while I do some
work."

4. I don’t really think Teddy Roosevelt was
two-faced like that, but who knows? How
about Christians? Are there any who say
they belong to Christ but act like they’re
a child of Satan?
Though difficult, the call for Christians to
live lives different than the world around
us is based firmly in what God has done
for us. He has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in Christ!

5. In Ephesians 1:1-14 Paul encourages
Christians to see how God has blessed
them in Christ & to be motivated to live
differently because of it.
In 1991 a young missionary who had grown
up in a Chattanooga, TN area church came
to the elders with the proposal of beginning
an inner city ministry in downtown
Chattanooga.

6. The goal was to involve Christians from all
over the area in spreading the gospel
through the urban communities and to plant
a new congregation in the inner city.
The ministry immediately began working in
the city‟s south side and God blessed their
efforts tremendously. Many individuals,
mostly young men, came to faith and were
baptized!

7. As Christians continued to work, God
continued to bless and eventually a new
facility was needed to meet in and operate
out of. It must have been the working of
God, because an older congregation across
town, but still in the downtown region, voted
to close its doors. It had been a long-
standing congregation that had simply died.

8. Its members had grown too old and too few
to maintain the facility and so they donated
it to the work of the inner city. It was a
wonderful boost and blessing to the new
Inner City Church of Christ!
But the building was on the city‟s east side!
Now, Chattanooga doesn‟t have „gangs‟ like
New York or L.A., but there does exist a
„gang‟ mentality among many of the young
people in the inner city.

9. For the church to move from the city‟s south
side – where the gangs dressed in blue– to
the city‟s east side -where the gangs
preferred red to separate themselves from
the blue- was to be a monumental
challenge! It wasn‟t unlike the initial
undertakings of Paul in taking the gospel to
the Gentiles!

10. After their first church service in the new
territory, a fight broke out in the parking lot
between the „reds‟ and the „blues‟. Even
though all these folks were either Christians
or had encountered the gospel through the
ministry, they hadn‟t changed overnight!
One young Christian had to be pulled off of
another young Christian, going at each
other simply because of the color of their
bandana and what side of town they lived
on.

11. We who have been Christians for many
years might have expected them to simply
drop their previous way of life in a snap! But
it just wasn‟t that simple!
To them, their gangs and the rivalry were so
much a part of their lives BEFORE
becoming Christians, it wasn‟t something
that could change overnight. Sometimes it‟s
tough to change! Sometimes it‟s tough to
live for Jesus!

12. It took the better part of the next year in
concentrated teaching for things to settle
down in their new neighborhood and for the
young church to realize that living for Jesus
meant that some of the old ways of life had
to be done away with!

13. We might hear this story and think that it is
far removed from us. WE certainly wouldn‟t
have gotten into a fight after church, would
we, over something so silly? Maybe not, but
that doesn‟t mean that you or I changed
overnight when we came to Christ, did we?
Did the alcoholic who became a Christian
no longer desire another drink? Did the
person who had lived a sexually immoral
lifestyle all of a sudden no longer desire the
opposite sex?

14. Did the person who had become so
accustomed to deceit and lying that it had
become a way of life all of a sudden
become a pillar of truth?
For some, yes. Their experiences of
conversion were so powerful that their lives
did an immediate 180! But for most of us,
the process is a slower one and sometimes
a painful one.

15. Because of erosion, the historic Cape
Hatteras Lighthouse was in peril of washing
into the Atlantic Ocean. So Congress
appropriated $12 million for the National
Park service to move it 2900 feet to safety.
With a combination of care, expertise,
patience and raw power, The Expert House
Movers of Sharptown, Maryland, moved the
208 foot tall, 9.7 million-pound structure to
its current home.

16. The option of moving the lighthouse was
first proposed in April of 1982, but the light
wasn‟t lit at its new location until November
13, 1999. 17 years of study and 23 days of
moving later. Why did it take so long?
Small things can be moved quickly, but big
things take time. Most people tend to
overestimate what they can do in a week
and underestimate what they can do in a
lifetime.

17. We don‟t change overnight. We don‟t
change easily, some of us. If this describes
you, relax, you‟re in good company. That‟s
just the folks that Paul is writing to in this
letter to the Ephesians!

18. Ephesians 2:1 NET And although you were
dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in
which you formerly lived according to this
world's present path, according to the ruler
of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the
spirit that is now energizing the sons of
disobedience,

19. 3 among whom all of us also formerly lived
out our lives in the cravings of our flesh,
indulging the desires of the flesh and the
mind, and were by nature children of wrath
even as the rest…
We introduced Ephesians last week & you‟ll
remember that one of Paul‟s key emphases
is on the CHANGED life.

20. A man came home one day and he saw a
plaque on the kitchen wall. It had been
placed there, obviously, by his sweet wife,
and it simply read, "Prayer changes things!"
Twenty-four hours later, the wife noticed
that the plaque had been removed from the
wall of their home. She confronted her
husband, asking, "Don't you like prayer?"
He answered, "Of course I like prayer, but I
don't like change!"

21. Life “in Christ” looks different than life “in the
world.”
Being a Christian makes a difference in the
way you live your life!
Paul also knows that sometimes that
transformation is a difficult and demanding
process and so he begins his letter by
giving us the motivation behind the change
that God wants to see in us!

22. In other words, Paul doesn‟t demand a
change in our lifestyle by guilting us into it;
or by threatening us into it; rather he
spends the first 3 chapters describing what
God has done for us so that we might live
for him! In so doing, he mentions seven
blessings that are ours in Christ and should
motivate us to live for Him.

23. Ephesians 1:1 NET From Paul, an apostle
of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the
saints [in Ephesus], the faithful in Christ
Jesus. 2 Grace and peace to you from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! 3
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
realms in Christ.

24. Paul is playing off of the word „blessing‟
saying, “Blessed is the God...who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing!”
We typically think of „blessings‟ in terms of
material „blessings‟, don‟t we? Or physical?
Good health, a house, a car, children,
grandchildren, a job. Paul often uses this
section of his letters to describe blessings
that are „other worldly‟, blessings that we
don‟t usually think of as blessings.

25. These are „spiritual blessings‟ that are found
„in the heavenly realms‟. That‟s not to say
that we have to wait till we get to heaven to
receive them– they are ours NOW! But it is
to say that they are blessings found in the
Kingdom of God & in the church; among
God‟s people.
So, if we have been blessed so thoroughly,
why is it still hard to live for Jesus?

26. Paul goes on to describe these blessings.
4 For he chose us in Christ before the
foundation of the world that we may be holy
and unblemished in his sight in love.
A lot of people get hung up on this language
of „election‟ or God‟s „choosing‟ us. Does
God pick & choose among humanity whom
he will save and whom he won‟t? If so,
where is our free will?

27. Do we have a choice in the matter? Some
believe & teach that God chooses us to be
saved and that we have no choice in the
matter. That necessarily means, that God
chooses for others to be lost. I have a
problem with that. God wants ALL to come
to repentance & be saved!

28. 2 Peter 3:9 NET The Lord is not slow
concerning his promise, as some regard
slowness, but is being patient toward you,
because he does not wish for any to perish
but for all to come to repentance.
No, remember who Paul is talking to: the
church, NOT individuals! Notice, too, where
the choosing takes place! “IN HIM”; that is,
CHRIST!

29. God knew that if he created man, that man
would sin and separate himself from God.
So, He chose (from the very beginning
before the foundation of the world) that
those who would choose to be „in Christ‟
would be made holy and unblemished. In
other words, if you have committed to make
Jesus the Lord of your life, then you have
chosen to be chosen!

30. Properly understood, the emphasis is STILL
on God! We‟ve still not done anything
worthy of being chosen! But God has
chosen us anyhow! We, the church, are the
CHOSEN!
How wonderful!

31. 5 He did this by predestining us to adoption
as his sons through Jesus Christ, according
to the pleasure of his will —
Again, lots of folks get hung up on the word
„predestining.‟ That just means that God
had the end in mind when He began.

32. When he created man it was with the idea
that we would spend eternity with Him in
Heaven. His idea for our destiny was
heaven! What more beautiful imagery than
„adoption‟ to speak of what God has done?
When a husband takes his wife to the
hospital to give birth they take home the
child that is born!
No choice in the matter!

33. Whatever came was what they will love-
warts & all! With „adoption‟ there‟s a choice!
You see what you‟re getting BEFORE
signing the papers! You see the warts & you
choose to bring them home anyway! That‟s
what God has done out of love! Even when
we were dead in our sin (full of warts?) God
chose to make us his children! Because he
loved us anyway! And notice, “according to
the pleasure of his will ,” it brought him
great joy!

34. 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace that
he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly
loved Son.
Grace, „Undeserving loving kindness‟ We
didn‟t deserve it, but he loves us anyhow.
Freely bestowed, it is a „gift‟; we don‟t earn
it, work for it, deserve it at all! But though
offered to everybody, it is only given
“through Jesus Christ!”

35. 7 In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace 8 that
he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

36. The concept of redemption is an interesting
one-with its roots in the Old Testament idea
of covenant and the language of the ancient
marketplace. In both instances it involved
the purchasing or buying back some item,
or person that would otherwise be lost,
taken prisoner or destroyed. In the OT, God
redeemed Israel from the Egyptians.

37. 2 Samuel 7:23 NIV And who is like your
people Israel—the one nation on earth that
God went out to redeem as a people for
himself, and to make a name for himself,
and to perform great and awesome
wonders by driving out nations and their
gods from before your people, whom you
redeemed from Egypt?

38. The Greeks would have used the word in
connection with the purchase of a slave‟s
freedom. God redeemed us from certain
destruction & the price was the blood of His
Son! We have been released from bondage
because Christ died on the Cross!

39. We also have received forgiveness of our
trespasses, through his blood; that act of
redemption! That‟s GRACE, lavished upon
us, not grudgingly or without full knowledge
of our sins & our undeservingness, but
purposefully! “With all wisdom & insight.”

40. 9 He did this when he revealed to us the
secret of his will, according to his good
pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10
toward the administration of the fullness of
the times, to head up all things in Christ —
the things in heaven and the things on
earth.

41. We typically think of a „secret‟ as something
very private, hush-hush. It could be
something shameful that would cause
embarrassment. You don‟t want anybody
else to know about it. Here „secret‟ refers to
the divine plan of God that had at one time
been hidden but is now revealed by God!

42. God‟s plan for mankind is revealed! It is
known! There is no reason for us to be
ignorant of the fact that, For this is the way
God loved the world: He gave his one and
only Son, so that everyone who believes in
him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 NET

43. If it has been revealed, then why hasn‟t
everyone heard the good news of this plan?
God has revealed Himself thru Jesus
Christ! God has revealed Himself thru His
Word!
It has been said that fully 1/3 of the people
in the world don‟t have access to a Bible,
His Word. What does that say to
Christians?

44. 11 In Christ we too have been claimed as
God's own possession, since we were
predestined according to the one purpose
of him who accomplishes all things
according to the counsel of his will 12 so
that we, who were the first to set our hope
on Christ, would be to the praise of his
glory.

45. Again, Paul says we are „chosen in Christ‟
by God himself according to his master
plan. What is that master plan? That we
spend eternity with Him! We weren‟t created
to simply exist, go to work, come home, go
to work, maybe raise a family, make some
money, leave a few good works, have a few
laughs and die, that being the end! NO! We
were created to live with God forever
praising Him! If you don‟t spend eternity
with God then you‟re not doing what you
were created for!

46. 13 And when you heard the word of truth
(the gospel of your salvation) — when you
believed in Christ — you were marked with
the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,14 who
is the down payment of our inheritance,
until the redemption of God's own
possession, to the praise of his glory.

47. Seals in Paul‟s day worked much like they
do today. They were a symbol of
authenticity, of genuineness, of proof of
purchase!
When you were a kid can you remember
sending off for special offers in the mail? I
remember sending for things I saw on a
cereal box.

48. To get that de-coder ring, or whatever it
was, you had to include the proof of
purchase. That was the proof, evidence,
that the special offer belonged to you. You
were its legal and rightful owner! So your
had a right to the thing you were sending off
for.

49. The Holy Spirit for the Christian is the proof
of purchase; the seal that guarantees that
God is the rightful owner! Therefore we
have a right to our inheritance because we
are God‟s possession! We‟ve been marked!
As you can see, God has blessed us
thoroughly in Christ! So completely!
Why would we NOT want to live lives that
reflect Jesus to those around us?

50. If God has done so much for us, and wants
us to change our habits, actions or lifestyle,
how could we say no? Of course, this is
Paul‟s point.
Are you living for Christ? Do you have these
blessings we‟ve mentioned? They‟re yours
if you‟re “in Christ.” Are you?
Have you named him as the Lord of your
life? Have you turned away from sin? Have
you been baptized into Christ for the
washing away of your sins? Let me
encourage you this morning to do so!

51. Maybe you are a Christian. I should ask this
morning, “Are you enjoying the benefits of
these blessings that you already have?” Did
you know you had them?
There is a story of an old pauper lady. She
spent her days collecting aluminum cans
and newspapers for recycling. She lived in
an old worn out shack on the verge of
collapse.

52. Her clothes were old, tattered and torn. She
had no family and no one to take care of
her. So, when she died the agents of the
state went into her house expecting to find
very little. Instead they found stacks &
stacks of old newspapers, each with a crisp
new $20 dollar bill in its pages. She was
wealthy, extremely wealthy for the small
town in which she lived! But she had never
enjoyed its benefits!

53. Are Christians sometimes like that? We‟ve
been blessed beyond our own
comprehension, yet we still live as if we
were paupers!
How many of us have tried to live our
Christian life like that?