What I Would Do Differently
Lesson 1 Ephesians 1:3–14
Every Spiritual Blessing
Main Point:
Union with Christ is the source of every spiritual blessing the Christian enjoys.
Introduction -
• There has been an increasing focus on the self and existential questions of identity.
o For the believer, such questions are addressed in God’s Word, specifically through the believer’s union with Christ.
o The Bible reveals that the Christian’s union with Christ defines their identity and is the source of all spiritual blessings they enjoy.
• We may not give much time to pondering our union with Christ.
o Paul uses the phrase “in Christ” or some other expression of union or participation in Christ close to 170 times.
o It was obviously of great importance to him.
• Our text begins with Paul praising “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”
for the spiritual blessings he has given to his people (Eph 1:3).
• He specifically discusses some of these blessings while acknowledging the blessings are further reaching than what is contained.
• Consider:
o The nature of the spiritual blessings o The extent of the spiritual blessings o The source of the spiritual blessings.
The Nature of the Spiritual Blessings – Ephesians 1:3
• Verse 3 says, “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
• Spiritual vs. material
o God, who is the creator of all things, is the source of all blessings, material and spiritual.
o Material blessings are enjoyed by believers and unbelievers alike.
o Matthew 5:45 affirms, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
o The spiritual blessings are mitigated through Christ only to those who are united to Him.
o “Spiritual” distinguishes a unique set of blessings that belongs to the Christian through their union with Christ.
o “Spiritual” here may also pertain to the application of such blessings through the work of the Holy Spirit.
• “Heavenly places” does not refer to where the blessings will be received or when they will be received.
o The believer is united to Christ, who is in heaven
o Ephesians 2:6–7, “…and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
o The blessings flow from the heavenly places where Christ is seated on the throne.
o Those spiritual, heavenly blessings which belong to Christ, also belong to the believer through their union with Him.
The Extent of the Spiritual Blessings
• Paul says, “every spiritual blessing” (Eph 1:3).
o There is no blessing that could be had that is withheld from the one who is united to Christ.
• Paul enumerates a sampling of some of these blessings in verses 4–14.
o He describes election, sanctification, and holiness in verse 4
o In verse 5, we see that in love, “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.” Predestination and election speak to his sovereign power to save the sinner and, as is mentioned, make them his holy and blameless child.
o The sinner, who was once at enmity to God, has now amazingly been made his child.
o In the beloved, Jesus, he has blessed us with his “glorious grace” (1:6).
o In verse 7, Redemption and forgiveness
o God has further “lavished upon us” the “riches of his grace” and made known to us the “mystery of his will” (Eph 1:7–9).
o The blessings continue in verse 11: “In him we have obtained an
inheritance.” The Christian has already obtained an inheritance that will one day be fully realized.
o Finally, he tops this off in verse 13 with the Holy Spirit
o The believer receives all this through their union with Christ and is also given the Spirit of Christ to indwell him. Believers are in him, and he is in believers.
• This list is extensive and is amazing, but it is in no way exhaustive.
o Whatever other spiritual blessing the Christian enjoys or could possibly enjoy is theirs in Christ.
o God has lavished the riches of his grace upon us (Eph 1:7–8).
o The “riches of his grace” seems to be another way of speaking of the spiritual blessings that flow from our union or one such blessing that encompasses a range of other blessings.
• What is remarkable is the language that Paul uses of God lavishing the riches of His grace upon those united to Christ.
o This is all an expression of God’s love for his people (1:4).
o God’s love overflows to the Christian in this abundance of spiritual blessing because they are in the Son.
The Source of the Spiritual Blessings
• The source of all these blessings for the believer is their union with Christ who possesses all these blessings.
• Union with Christ is not a passing reference but is at the very heart of what Paul is communicating and the source of every blessing he describes.
o The overarching reference in verse 3 o “he chose us in him” (4),
o “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ”
(5),
o “he has blessed us in the Beloved” (6), o “we have redemption through his blood” (7),
o “according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ” (9), and o “to unite all things in him” (10).
o Our union to Jesus is the source of every blessing we enjoy.
• Charles Hodge explains, “Much in the same sense the Israelites are said to have been chosen in Abraham. Their relation to Abraham and God’s covenant with him, were the ground and reason of all the peculiar blessings they enjoyed. So our covenant union with Christ is the ground of all the benefits which we as the people of God possess or hope for.”1
• Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
o God has already given believers the greater blessing, his Son.
o He will not withhold the lesser blessing, everything else.
• These blessings are lavished on the believer in love (4).
o Given the sinful state of man, this seems to be almost impossible.
o Bryan Chapell says, “God loves us because we are in union with the Son that he loves. United to Christ, we are also adopted by the Father, and as such have all the rights, privileges, and affection that the Son of God himself receives from God”2
o The love flows to the believer because they are united to the Son who knows the fullness of the Father’s love.
Application -
• Because of Christ, no spiritual blessing is withheld from the Christian.
o God has blessed his people with these blessings in Christ.
o Union with Christ is the source of all spiritual blessings the believer will ever enjoy.
• Union with Christ means that what is said of Christ can now be said of his people.
o These blessings that now belong to the Christian cannot be taken away.
o They are not conditioned on the believer at all.
o Rather, they belong to the believer because they belong to the Son to whom they have been united.
• This truth should be a source of great comfort for the believer.
o Who you are as a person and how God views you is determined by how God views Jesus.
1 Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 30.
2 Chapell, Ephesians, 25.
o Your past sin and experiences, as well as current circumstances, cannot remove these blessings which have been given to you.
o This, of course, does not mean that you will always experience these blessings to the same degree.
• Do not separate Christ from the blessings that we have in Christ.
o We can often speak of these blessings abstractly with no real reference to Christ.
o We do not come to Christ to receive blessings.
o We come to Christ for Christ.
o The consummation of all these blessings will come when we enter into the presence of the one to whom we have been united.
o To be with the one we love and the one who loves us.
For Reflection:
• Key verse: Ephesians 1:3, “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.”
• Do you ever struggle with feelings of inadequacy before God or other people?
What are some areas in which you struggle with inadequacy? How does your union with Christ address these concerns?
• What are some of the implications in your life of the truth that in Christ you possess every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places?
• How do you respond to the truth that because of Christ, no spiritual blessing is withheld from you?
• Do you believe that union with Christ means that what is said of Christ can now be said of you? If so, how does that change how you live?
• What are some of the things in your life that you hope this study will help with?
Lesson 2