A Reason To Celebrate
Ephesians 1:1-14
This is an absolutely jaw-dropping, powerhouse section of scripture that we will be diving into today. Be excited! Be excited that we get to be united with Christ. Be excited that we are chosen. Be excited that we’re elected. Be excited that we’re predestined. And we’ll dive into some of those topics briefly today.
But let me set the foundation for what is going on. Paul is in Rome under Roman and under Roman guard. And he is writing this letter to the Church of Ephesus. (That’s why it’s titled “Ephesians.”) Paul sets the tone for the entire book in the first fourteen verses. Actually, in the original Greek, it was one run-on sentence. So, verses 1-14 is one entire sentence that was just split up into verses.
This is like the head’s up for absolute powerhouse, hard concepts and doctrines to understand. But, at the same time, it reminds us that we have a reason to celebrate when we are united in who Christ is. And so, today, we’re really going to focus on the reason to celebrate, and the next time I teach this section of scripture, we’re going to focus on all the other stuff that makes our heads go in circles about election and predestination and free will, and all that fun stuff that’s hard for us to fully wrap around our minds – around the absolute powerhouse God that we serve.
A little back story on Ephesus. Ephesus was home to the temple of Diane, a lowercase “g” god. She was a goddess of fertility. And what is powerful here is that Paul was actually in Ephesus. Back in Acts 9:19, he’s there in his third missionary trip, and he arrives to Ephesus and stays there for about two or two and a half years.
While there, he shares the gospel. He goes to the synagogue, as was customary for him. And for the Gentiles, revival began to take place as people believed in Jesus, as people were being baptized, and revival began to take place as people began to declare that they were in sin, many of them entangled with witchcraft, entangled with sorcery. This leads to Acts Chapter 19, where these people, together in a public bonfire, brought their enchantment books and burnt them at this fire as a declaration that they were leaving their sin nature and beginning to follow Christ.
In Acts, it talks about the amount of money that was valued in these books that were burnt was in the millions. But, obviously, within this section of scripture, there’s this guy named Demetrius. He’s a silversmith. He’s angry because his job was focused around building little shrines, little statues of this goddess Diana, who, again, was a goddess of fertility. (You can Google that later.)
But the lowercase “g” on that goddess. It’s important that we know that it was a Greek mythology goddess that was made up. And so, this silversmith made shrines, made little figurines for people to take with them so they could worship this false god.
And what happens? Paul goes – shares the gospel – people begin to give their lives to God. And so they start turning away from this goddess. So then, what happens to the silversmith? His business starts hurting. His pocketbook starts hurting. People stop buying shrines. And so, he kind of riles up all the other silversmiths and those with similar crafts, and he gets them together to begin a riot. And this riot leads to a great commotion in the entire city of Ephesus, would take them to this amphitheater that was located there in Ephesus. For two hours, these people that refused to give their lives to Christ chanted, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians,” or “Artemus” is another name for her. Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
And what is so crazy, is in that section of scripture, Paul leaves because it was a clear danger to his life, and he still has much work to do before his third missionary trip is over. What is so important is that he leaves (after two and a half years) a church that has been rooted, planted, and growing in the truth of who Christ is. And so, now again, further down the line, Paul is under Roman imprisonment writing to that Church.
Psalm 32:11 (NLT)
11 So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!
Like I said, this section of scripture hits a lot of hard topics that are difficult for us to wrap our head around. And we will. We will get to the point where we go through these sections of scripture. But what I need us to do today is take a step back and realize that we have a reason to celebrate today as we are going to go through the truths of this section of scripture. We have a reason to rejoice because if you have Christ in your life, you will see the blessings, and you will see the joy that Paul took as we wrote this long sentence to the Ephesians and to us.
Ephesians 1:1(a) (NLT)
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
Let’s pause right there.
To be chosen…
To be chosen… Paul came from a place of being in captivity. Paul came from a place of being bound by sin. Paul came from a place of being Saul to now being purposed as you see. Purposed in Christ to preach the gospel.
Apostle This word means “one who is sent.” In a different epistle, Paul writes, “Woe, woe to me if I don’t preach the word of God.” Woe to me if my purpose is not to declare his name. And what is so beautiful about this section of scripture is that it opens into the first reason that we have to celebrate. And that is the blessing that we have in Christ. That is the blessing that we have when we know that we are chosen and purposed for a purpose. And the general purpose of that is to bring God glory. Your life. My life. The greatest thing we can do is let our will down and let his will take place in our life as we choose to say, “Lord, with my breath, with my life, with my pocketbook, with my children, with my marriage, you will be glorified because we want to live for you.”
Continuing in verse 1.
Ephesians 1:1(b) (NLT)
1 I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
Again, he is addressing this to the holy people of Ephesus, who are faithful followers. That is the goal. The goal is to be faithful followers. Not of this world. Not of a career. Not of a person – but faithful followers of Christ Jesus. To be God’s holy people.
I don’t know about you, but when I realize that I have the opportunity in my life to be one of God’s holy people, I was jaw-dropped because I knew that there was no way that with my own merit, with my own ability, with my own efforts I can get to that place that we’re going to see later in this section of scripture, that I can stand in front of my Creator one day forgiven, without a fault.
Ephesians 1:2 (NLT)
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
The way it opens up verse two, May God our Father… You see, God has been, will always be, has no beginning, has no end because he is reigning and ruling. You see, God rules, God conquers, God alone allows this universe to exist. So, I don’t want you to think of God as being this “God out there in space” who is so busy running all of existence that he’s not invested in your life. Because it says God and our Father. May God our Father… You see God is both powerful and loving. God is ruling but invested in your life. God is both omnipresent, “omni-patient” and is just completely and utterly in control, but yet he still desires for you to know him. To me, again, that is mind-blowing that we serve a God whom I can actually and literally have a loving relationship with.
It says give you grace and peace. As Believers, as Christians, another reason that we have to celebrate – not only that we get to have a relationship with our Creator – (and if that was all the message was today, that’s sufficient, enough for our lives. That’s all I have to celebrate about. All the joy can’t fully comprehend what it means to actually know our Creator. But then it says may you have grace and peace. As Believers, we not only need God’s grace to have his peace, as Believers, it is because of his marvelous grace (that we’ll see in this section of scripture as we continue) it is because of his grace that we are able to fall flat on our face in failure and say, “Lord, I’ve messed up. I’ve fallen short. And God, I desire to come to you. I desire to be refined by you. I desire to know you more and more because you are not only God, but you are my loving Father in Heaven.
And when you have that grace, it opens this floodgate to be able to have that peace that comes from only knowing God. To me, it is absolutely indescribable, supernatural, only accredited to God that in different seasons and storms in my young life, I could have God’s peace despite what’s going on. I can have God’s joy despite what’s going on. I can have his peace that guides me in different seasons of my life, whether it was leaving the fire department or originally marrying Ashley and if she was the one for me, and all the decisions I’ve had to make in my walk with God. Every time that I had God’s peace in that direction, guess what? I ran through that door. And every time I didn’t, I wrestled with not wanting to run out that door. I wrestled with wanting God’s peace, and guess what? The beautiful fact is that when I look back on my life, I say, “Whoa, God! Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to stand right at the center of your will for my life.” It’s because, as Believers, because of his grace, we have the ability to be led by his peace. His peace that passes all understanding, his peace that is real.
The biggest thing I emphasize with the youth, day in and day out, is that we can actually live in a real way with THE real God (not a real God) who rules and reigns with his peace, with his grace. Hold on to that concept, and if you don’t know what that’s like, don’t leave without knowing.
Ephesians 1:3 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
It says blessed us with every spiritual blessing
Again, God and Father, Abba, Pappa, all powerful but still relational. What a reason to rejoice What a reason to celebrate.
The mood of this verse, these fourteen verses, is an exuberant joy. “Barachaha” is the Greek word for this blessing song that Paul is writing. His absolutely overfilled and overflowed with the presence of God as he is writing onto paper how beautiful it is to be united with Christ and have every – not some – every blessing in Christ in the Heavenly realms. Our blessings aren’t momentary. Our blessings aren’t physical. Our blessings aren’t a new truck, isn’t a person we want to date, isn’t the house we want to have, isn’t the career we desire to have. Our blessing is eternally set in who Christ is in eternity and cannot be taken away from you and I. Every spiritual blessing. Unending in who Christ is. Unending in the merciful, and great and loving and crucified, but yet alive and active Christ that we serve.
At any section in this section of scripture, can we just stop and say, “That’s enough. Let’s go home.”
…to be united with Christ. To be united with Christ is to be made one, to be harmonized with who Christ is. That needs to be the desire in our hearts.
As you guys know, I am absolutely zero percent gifted when it comes to being musically inclined. So, last night, I asked my wife, “What does it mean to harmonize?” And she tells me something along the lines of to work your voices, the sounds coming out of your mouth, together, to create one beautiful sound. In the case of worship, one beautiful sound of worship to God. To work together to create this harmony, this unity, this oneness in worship to who Christ is in our lives. And you and I get to be a part of being united, of being one, and in harmony with who Christ is.
I was convicted when I first started teaching God’s Word about a year or two ago because I thought every time I teach, it always ends on the same thing – Jesus. Hey, you need Jesus as your Savior. And I kid you not, I had a solid day and a half where I was thinking if that was like what it was supposed to be. And I was caught in this conviction: if I ever teach God’s Word and not end in the unity we have in Christ, then I am teaching Justo’s word. And I don’t want to be here as much as I don’t want to listen to myself talk.
To be united in Christ, our hearts, our lives, our existence, our souls know no greater joy. Think about that. It’s not fake. It’s not religion. It’s not made up. You can actually, tangibly, really, and relationally be united with Christ. Barachaha. What a beautiful meaning.
Let’s keep reading about the reason we have to celebrate in this blessing.
Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Paul rejoiced in the fact that he was chosen, that he was loved, that he was elected by God before the foundations of the earth.
And I know that’s a scary thing for us to wrap our head around. But here’s the reality. We are chosen. We are elected. We are predestined. And the only way that makes sense is when we take a step back and understand that our pea-sized brains (Pastor Dave used that phrase when he taught this series, and I love that) cannot comprehend the infinite, unmatched, undeniable, unchallenged, equal God that we serve and his plan that is at work where both predestination, free-will election and the ability you have to choose them simultaneously exist.
When we take that step back and say, Whoa! Do I have a reason to celebrate that I am chosen and loved before the foundations of the earth, no matter how much I have messed up! I love that it says that because it means that you and I can absolutely do nothing to earn our salvation, to earn our right standing because before you even existed, God already chose you and loved you. And you had no resumé to say that you were a good person.
But instead, God said not only am I the all-powerful ruling and reigning God, but I am your Father, and I have chosen you, and I have loved you way before the earth was even created, before time even existed. To be loved and chosen and united with Christ, we enter into this next reality that we have to celebrate as we have this wonderful pursuit in our lives as we are brought to unity with Christ in a desire to want to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
I love that it comes after being in Christ because here’s a reality. God didn’t choose you, God didn’t elect you, God predestined you because you were already holy because you were already faultless in his eyes. He brought himself to you. He sent his Son to die on the Cross so that as you accepted him, you realized that you were chosen. And now we have this fight, this run, this challenge ahead of us to be, to say God, just like Paul opened this letter in verse one, I desire to be God’s holy people who is a faithful follower, not of this world, but of Christ.
In a world where we can consume ourselves with goals and challenges and pursuits, a career, a person we like, the house we want to build – and those are cool things. But here’s the reality. When you die, when I die, our house will stay. Our car will stay. The person that we married – whether they go first or I go first – guess what? The only thing that lasts in eternity is the spiritual blessing that we find in verse three, that when you were chosen, you were given this blessing. When you confessed your sins and came to Christ, like the people of Ephesus with their books, guess what? You begin this race of saying God. I am coming to you dirty, absolutely filthy. Absolutely filled with this world, Lord. And I desire for you to break me, to shape me, and to allow me to be refined by who you are.
Pastor Dave once explained it to me in a really clear way. You don’t get clean before you take a shower. Just like you don’t have to “clean yourself up,” you don’t have to fix your relationship. When I came to Christ, in a moment that I didn’t even realize, I was sinning against the person that would be my wife. I was sinning against the person that I was dating. I was in sin, with the focus being myself and how in shape I wanted to be. But, as I came to Christ, he convicted me about spending three or four hours at the gym, but zero time with who my God was. He convicted me about crossing lines with this girl that I was dating when I said I believed in him and I wanted to live for him. You see – we come to God dirty, and then he makes us holy.
One of my prayers that I pray often (it’s also a fear I have) I hate opening God’s Word to only teach other people. I hate opening God’s Word to share a verse with someone. And it’s not that I hate it, I love it. I love sharing God’s Word. I love preaching God’s Word. It’s like Paul said, woe to me if I don’t preach his Word. But for me personally, if I don’t open his Word and meditate on who my Father is, on who my Abba is, who he is in my life, I don’t want to be telling you who he is in yours.
Here’s the truth. Without Christ, in this season of my life, I’m a horrible husband. Without Christ, I can’t bring myself to come before my wife and say I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m sorry for acting like a jerk. I’m sorry for being hungry and tired and not loving you like Christ loved the Church. Without Christ, I am a horrible son. I’m sorry Mom, I’m sorry Dad, for not checking in on you guys. For not heeding to some of the advice and wisdom that you want to share with me in my life. Without Christ, I’m a horrible brother. Without Christ, there’s no way I can attain to be a godly brother, a brother that God designed for me to be, both to my physical brother and to a brother in Christ with all of you guys. Without Christ, I can’t be a good friend.
I recently fumbled the ball at being a good friend. And that reminded me I need Christ in my life in order to continually have this wonderful pursuit in my life in rejoicing that he is my Creator and that I get to fight in this fight; I get to run this race with endurance and say, Lord, I want to be holy and without fault in your eyes one day. Not for my pride, not for me – just me. But Lord, for how glorious and mighty you are and how my soul desires to know you before I do anything else.
Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
He decided in advance He chose. He elected. He predestined to adopt you. To adopt me. into his HIS OWN family. Through his Son. Wrap that around your heads. Don’t get caught up in the predestination and free will, the stuff that the enemy loves to distract people with and fight against each other. But be caught up in the beauty of this section of scripture.
As I was reading and studying this section of scripture, I couldn’t help but keep thinking over and over again (for those of you that don’t know, and I asked my pops if it was cool that I share this story) my two older brothers and I were raised without a dad for nine years. I don’t know my biological father. It wasn’t until I was nine-and-a-half years old when God was faithful to allow my mom to marry my stepdad. And the only reason I say stepdad is for the clarity of the story. But all my brothers and I call him dad. And here’s the thing. I was shocked there was a man who wasn’t my biological father who reminded me, that poured into me, that told me who Jesus was in my own life. And every season of his life that I have been able to share with him, he has edified me, he has prayed over me, and he has reminded me that God has set me, like my older brothers, apart to live for him, not for this world. To be adopted into his own family. As I was reading this section of scripture, I was remembering what a faithful God that I have in sending who my dad is today. It emphasizes, even more, that he is not only God but our Father.
He desires, and it brings him great pleasure to adopt you and me into his family through his actual and only begotten Son. I would not crucify, I would not put to death my kid to bring you into my family. I know that sounds weird. But I am trying to paint it for you guys. And the reality that it gave him great pleasure in this plan that he had. It brought great pleasure within God’s justified and beautiful and righteous nature. Yes, he chose you. He set you before the foundations of the earth. He chose you and decided for you in advance. But that doesn’t mean that he predestined and elected people to go to hell.
As we see later in this section of scripture, as God draws you to himself, as God has chosen you, as he makes it known to you, in reality even this morning as you are here and if you’re wrestling, “am I chosen?” The question is “Have you accepted him? Have you confessed him? Have you given your life to him?’ Because, guess what? The fact that you are here and we are opening this beautiful section of scripture is evidence enough that God has chosen you and is drawing you to himself.
Ephesians 1:6 (NLT)
6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
You see, Father was used some fourteen times in the Old Testament, and it was never for an individual purpose. It was for the Father of the Nation of Israel. But the beautiful thing about the gospel, is that Jesus uses Father in a real and relational way, introducing something new into human existence that God is our Father. He uses it over sixty times in the gospel as he’s walking. The only time he doesn’t say Father is when he says, “God forgive them for they know not what they do,” as he was on the Cross. It opened this floodgate in our lives to be able to understand that he is our Father in Heaven. That it is because of his glorious grace, it is this praise that we have for him because we belong to him and his dear Son, through his Son, through the unity that we have through Christ.
Ephesians 1:7 (NLT)
7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
What a redemption story! To be forgiven of our sins and purchased solely and purely and only by the blood of Christ. Only through Christ, in him alone do we have redemption, do we have forgiveness, we are purchased.
The reality is not only did God create you and I, not only did he design you, not only did he knit you together like David says in Psalm 139, “You knew me before I even was…” He designed the inner complexities of your body. Psalm 139 says that you are his masterpiece. Not only did he create you, but he purchased you. Twice owned by God. Twice belonging to God in his beautiful plan of redemption, where our whole purpose is to bring him glory, and we get to experience the goodness of his grace. We get to experience the goodness of being united, of being one, of being in harmony with who Christ is as he becomes and continues to become our Abba, our Father in Heaven.
When I first gave my life to God, and I read sections of scripture where it says he knows the number of hairs on your head, in my head, I was like, “Yeah. Does he really, though?” And the reality is that is just the beginning! That’s just the beginning of how much he knows you. That’s just the beginning of how much he desires for you to know him because he already knows you, because he designed you, and he created you. He made you. He purchased you.
And you have a choice to be a slave to sin, to be a slave to this world, to be in baggage, to be broken, to chained, to be cast away, to spend eternity away from him – OR – to be his adopted from a slave to a son, from a slave to a daughter, to be adopted, to be kept, to have his glorious grace, to be purchased, to be united with who Christ is. Guys, it is night and day, and that doesn’t even fully picture the difference and the two options that you have. And the fact that you are listening this morning is evidence in and of itself that he is drawing you to himself. We don’t serve a God of coincidence. That fact that you’re here is the fact that he desires for you to know him, for you to understand that despite who your father is here on earth, despite whether you know your biological dad or not (like me), despite what the circumstances are at home with your mom and your dad, you have a Father in Heaven who loves you. And he just so happens to be the Creator, Designer, and Ruler of all existence.
To me, I’ve told you guys, I work really well off of imagery. I work really good off of picturing something. If I can picture something, I can learn it. If I can’t picture something, I am going to be like, “What are you talking about?” And to me, in my head – well, I’m really into this show called “Suits.” And they’re really big about titles and your name, and your title being underneath your name, because it is a corporate lawyer company. And as I was reading this section of scripture, I couldn’t help but think that in my name, to my door, it said my name: Justo Madrigal. “A slave to sin” And it was scraped away, the message was changed, and it said: Justo Madrigal “An Adopted Son of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, Who is United with Christ, and One Day Will Stand in the Presence of God Forgiven and Without a Single Fault.” It’s the same for you. What’s the title underneath your name? What does it say on your everlasting spiritual business card (you could say)? Because one is eternal, sharing in the glory of God, and one is eternal – not death – but dying in separation from Christ.
Ephesians 1:8-9 (NLT)
8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.
In these short two or three verses, you are chosen and drawn to Christ. You’re purchased, you’re forgiven, you’re showered in kindness, and are blameless before him. But wait, there’s more with getting all wisdom and understanding. You see, the wisdom that you get from Christ is not like the wisdom that you get from this world, from experiencing sin. The wisdom that you get from Christ is heavenly. It is what gave Solomon the ability to lead the kingdom. It is what gave David the ability to seek after God’s heart. And I don’t know about you, but instead of seeking the things of this world, instead of having the wisdom of this world, I desire to have the Solomon did to be a godly man and lead his people to God. I desire to be like David, and before I ever teach God’s Word is to know him and to have him in my heart, to be in constant pursuit of daily over and over know who my Creator is.
To be able to be a part of God’s redemption plan, for our good and ultimately purely and solely for his glory, that’s a privilege. That’s a privilege that we have that God is so gracious and loving and amazing enough to extend his hand into our lives. Look. You’re right there. You’re so close to the title change to belonging to me and being able to experience part of my redemption plan and one day be flat on your face in awe of who I am. As we read in Revelation, as you cast your crowns at his feet and you fall flat on your face, and you say, Holy, Holy Holy are you alone, God Almighty – all under the authority of Christ.
Ephesians 1:10 (NLT)
10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
Everything. All. Every. Any. In Heaven and on earth.
This is the reason to rejoice. The beautiful redemption story that God has and the beautiful way he allows us to be part of it. Not just now, but since the foundations of the earth, since before you even existed, since before you even formulated a thought. Since before your parents ever even met. He’s allowing you to be a part of his redemption story.
Hold on to that, guys. No matter what’s going on in your life, no matter what struggles you’re going through, no matter what hardships you’re in the middle of, no matter what loss you are wrestling through, this is a reason to celebrate, to hold on to who Christ is. And we’re going to see the inheritance that we have here in verse 11.
Ephesians 1:11 (NLT)
11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
The verbiage united with Christ it’s the same as in verse 3. To be one, to be in harmony with who Christ is.
An inheritance. Like none other. An inheritance that’s not money. An inheritance that’s not the dream life. An inheritance that isn’t the dream home. An inheritance that isn’t whatever prized possessions your loved ones hold. An inheritance that is eternally and forever in the presence of God as you get to bathe in his glory.
And this is what I need you guys to understand this morning. And like I said, we’ll dive back into this section of scripture on the complexity, on the doctrine that so many people build on this, a lot of it being true, a lot of it being wrong depending on what side you stand on. We are in a place where God is outside of time. And we are bound by the law of time, and God rules and reigns. He existed before time even began. He has no end. He has no beginning because he alone reigns and rules.
And because of that, God, in his plan, according to his plan, is able to have both at play at the same time where you are chosen, but you also have the ability to choose him. Where your free will and you also are predestined. Guys, for us to understand that fully in our lives, we’d have to be dead and in the presence of God to really, fully realize and wrap our head around that, and that’s when our faith steps in.
Our faith that he is God. Our faith that we will be united in Christ and that one day we will be in the presence of God and just be jaw-dropped at the marvelous grace that is to know what Christ reveals to us.
You see, we still have a responsibility. As we were chosen, as he draws you to himself, as you’re sitting here, as you’re listening online, you have the responsibility to respond to this word that has gone forth. And you are going to see that in verse 12 and 13.
Ephesians 1:12-13 (NLT)
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.
13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
Unless you are born of Jewish cultural heritage into the Jews, the Tribes of Israel, you and I are Gentiles. It means a Greek. It means a person that is not Jewish. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the good news. And now you __________ (put your name) have also heard the truth. The truth. THE good news. You see, the truth IS the good news. When you believed (that requires an action).
The question is, have we heard the good news this morning? Yes. And in case you haven’t – here’s the good news. While you were still a sinner, that while you were still dead in your sins, consumed by the things of this world, God sent his one and only Son to die on the Cross for you. In other words, your sins put him on that Cross, and he willingly stayed there because he loves you and he desires for you to have a relationship with him, as he reveals you to his Father, as you’re covered by his blood, as now you’re in awe that now you are redeemed in who Christ is, and Christ alone.
And it leads us to the next question. Have you believed in Christ? You’ve heard the good news. It’s in your side of the ballfield now. It’s your hand to play. Have you believed? Have you placed all that you are in everything that Christ will always be for eternity? Have you surrendered your life and said, Lord, I need you. Christ I need to be united with you. I need to be kept by you. I desire, Lord, to be adopted into your family. I want to spend eternity with you, Lord. I want to be consumed by making you the foundation of my life. The strong tower of my life. My defender. My cornerstone. I desire to live for you alone. I desire to get rid of my will. Get rid of my flesh. Put to death the old man and become a new creation in you and you alone, Jesus.
The truth is you have the ability to cry out to God. You have the ability to call out to him and ask him to be your Savior. But look, what is so beautiful, blessing upon blessing, we have more continual celebration as he gives us his Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:14 (NLT)
14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
When you accept, when I accepted, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and stop playing the games and be real with who Christ is in our lives, we don’t get a Porche. We don’t get a car. We get the full power and radiating power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. And it is the seal in your life. It is the mark in your life. It is the significant mark in your life that makes it known to this world, to Satan, to the enemy, to the Father that you belong God. That you have been adopted, that you have been grafted, that he loves you, and that you are his child.
Have you believed? To live your life without knowing what it’s like utterly consumed by the Holy Spirit, to be in awe, to be in union, to be in harmony, to know that you have the confidence – not in yourself – not the confidence in someone else – but the confidence that you are saved because of the faith that you have in who Christ IS, and nothing can rip you from his hand. It’s something amazing to know, not only experience but to live in daily, as you take those steps of faith to live for him.
If you need Jesus to be your Savior., if you need Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, if you need to confess before him, if you need to realize that you need to be in union with Christ, if you need to be prayed over, if you need to be adopted into the life of God, if you need to be his son, if you know that if you died today you will spend eternity apart from Christ when you came so close as you heard his Word – if you need that his morning, if it’s a day of salvation for you, raise your hand to God.
Just pray right where you are. Call out to him. Confess that you are a sinner. Ask him to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to change you daily, and thank him.
You can pray something simple like this.
Lord, I admit I am a sinner. I need and want your forgiveness. I accept your death on the Cross as the penalty for my sin and recognize that your mercy and grace are a gift you offer me because of your great love, not based on anything I have done. I pray that you will come into my heart, be Lord over my life, and fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, for the faith to believe. In your name, I pray, amen.
But let me set the foundation for what is going on. Paul is in Rome under Roman and under Roman guard. And he is writing this letter to the Church of Ephesus. (That’s why it’s titled “Ephesians.”) Paul sets the tone for the entire book in the first fourteen verses. Actually, in the original Greek, it was one run-on sentence. So, verses 1-14 is one entire sentence that was just split up into verses.
This is like the head’s up for absolute powerhouse, hard concepts and doctrines to understand. But, at the same time, it reminds us that we have a reason to celebrate when we are united in who Christ is. And so, today, we’re really going to focus on the reason to celebrate, and the next time I teach this section of scripture, we’re going to focus on all the other stuff that makes our heads go in circles about election and predestination and free will, and all that fun stuff that’s hard for us to fully wrap around our minds – around the absolute powerhouse God that we serve.
A little back story on Ephesus. Ephesus was home to the temple of Diane, a lowercase “g” god. She was a goddess of fertility. And what is powerful here is that Paul was actually in Ephesus. Back in Acts 9:19, he’s there in his third missionary trip, and he arrives to Ephesus and stays there for about two or two and a half years.
While there, he shares the gospel. He goes to the synagogue, as was customary for him. And for the Gentiles, revival began to take place as people believed in Jesus, as people were being baptized, and revival began to take place as people began to declare that they were in sin, many of them entangled with witchcraft, entangled with sorcery. This leads to Acts Chapter 19, where these people, together in a public bonfire, brought their enchantment books and burnt them at this fire as a declaration that they were leaving their sin nature and beginning to follow Christ.
In Acts, it talks about the amount of money that was valued in these books that were burnt was in the millions. But, obviously, within this section of scripture, there’s this guy named Demetrius. He’s a silversmith. He’s angry because his job was focused around building little shrines, little statues of this goddess Diana, who, again, was a goddess of fertility. (You can Google that later.)
But the lowercase “g” on that goddess. It’s important that we know that it was a Greek mythology goddess that was made up. And so, this silversmith made shrines, made little figurines for people to take with them so they could worship this false god.
And what happens? Paul goes – shares the gospel – people begin to give their lives to God. And so they start turning away from this goddess. So then, what happens to the silversmith? His business starts hurting. His pocketbook starts hurting. People stop buying shrines. And so, he kind of riles up all the other silversmiths and those with similar crafts, and he gets them together to begin a riot. And this riot leads to a great commotion in the entire city of Ephesus, would take them to this amphitheater that was located there in Ephesus. For two hours, these people that refused to give their lives to Christ chanted, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians,” or “Artemus” is another name for her. Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
And what is so crazy, is in that section of scripture, Paul leaves because it was a clear danger to his life, and he still has much work to do before his third missionary trip is over. What is so important is that he leaves (after two and a half years) a church that has been rooted, planted, and growing in the truth of who Christ is. And so, now again, further down the line, Paul is under Roman imprisonment writing to that Church.
Psalm 32:11 (NLT)
11 So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!
Like I said, this section of scripture hits a lot of hard topics that are difficult for us to wrap our head around. And we will. We will get to the point where we go through these sections of scripture. But what I need us to do today is take a step back and realize that we have a reason to celebrate today as we are going to go through the truths of this section of scripture. We have a reason to rejoice because if you have Christ in your life, you will see the blessings, and you will see the joy that Paul took as we wrote this long sentence to the Ephesians and to us.
Ephesians 1:1(a) (NLT)
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
Let’s pause right there.
To be chosen…
To be chosen… Paul came from a place of being in captivity. Paul came from a place of being bound by sin. Paul came from a place of being Saul to now being purposed as you see. Purposed in Christ to preach the gospel.
Apostle This word means “one who is sent.” In a different epistle, Paul writes, “Woe, woe to me if I don’t preach the word of God.” Woe to me if my purpose is not to declare his name. And what is so beautiful about this section of scripture is that it opens into the first reason that we have to celebrate. And that is the blessing that we have in Christ. That is the blessing that we have when we know that we are chosen and purposed for a purpose. And the general purpose of that is to bring God glory. Your life. My life. The greatest thing we can do is let our will down and let his will take place in our life as we choose to say, “Lord, with my breath, with my life, with my pocketbook, with my children, with my marriage, you will be glorified because we want to live for you.”
Continuing in verse 1.
Ephesians 1:1(b) (NLT)
1 I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
Again, he is addressing this to the holy people of Ephesus, who are faithful followers. That is the goal. The goal is to be faithful followers. Not of this world. Not of a career. Not of a person – but faithful followers of Christ Jesus. To be God’s holy people.
I don’t know about you, but when I realize that I have the opportunity in my life to be one of God’s holy people, I was jaw-dropped because I knew that there was no way that with my own merit, with my own ability, with my own efforts I can get to that place that we’re going to see later in this section of scripture, that I can stand in front of my Creator one day forgiven, without a fault.
Ephesians 1:2 (NLT)
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
The way it opens up verse two, May God our Father… You see, God has been, will always be, has no beginning, has no end because he is reigning and ruling. You see, God rules, God conquers, God alone allows this universe to exist. So, I don’t want you to think of God as being this “God out there in space” who is so busy running all of existence that he’s not invested in your life. Because it says God and our Father. May God our Father… You see God is both powerful and loving. God is ruling but invested in your life. God is both omnipresent, “omni-patient” and is just completely and utterly in control, but yet he still desires for you to know him. To me, again, that is mind-blowing that we serve a God whom I can actually and literally have a loving relationship with.
It says give you grace and peace. As Believers, as Christians, another reason that we have to celebrate – not only that we get to have a relationship with our Creator – (and if that was all the message was today, that’s sufficient, enough for our lives. That’s all I have to celebrate about. All the joy can’t fully comprehend what it means to actually know our Creator. But then it says may you have grace and peace. As Believers, we not only need God’s grace to have his peace, as Believers, it is because of his marvelous grace (that we’ll see in this section of scripture as we continue) it is because of his grace that we are able to fall flat on our face in failure and say, “Lord, I’ve messed up. I’ve fallen short. And God, I desire to come to you. I desire to be refined by you. I desire to know you more and more because you are not only God, but you are my loving Father in Heaven.
And when you have that grace, it opens this floodgate to be able to have that peace that comes from only knowing God. To me, it is absolutely indescribable, supernatural, only accredited to God that in different seasons and storms in my young life, I could have God’s peace despite what’s going on. I can have God’s joy despite what’s going on. I can have his peace that guides me in different seasons of my life, whether it was leaving the fire department or originally marrying Ashley and if she was the one for me, and all the decisions I’ve had to make in my walk with God. Every time that I had God’s peace in that direction, guess what? I ran through that door. And every time I didn’t, I wrestled with not wanting to run out that door. I wrestled with wanting God’s peace, and guess what? The beautiful fact is that when I look back on my life, I say, “Whoa, God! Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to stand right at the center of your will for my life.” It’s because, as Believers, because of his grace, we have the ability to be led by his peace. His peace that passes all understanding, his peace that is real.
The biggest thing I emphasize with the youth, day in and day out, is that we can actually live in a real way with THE real God (not a real God) who rules and reigns with his peace, with his grace. Hold on to that concept, and if you don’t know what that’s like, don’t leave without knowing.
Ephesians 1:3 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
It says blessed us with every spiritual blessing
Again, God and Father, Abba, Pappa, all powerful but still relational. What a reason to rejoice What a reason to celebrate.
The mood of this verse, these fourteen verses, is an exuberant joy. “Barachaha” is the Greek word for this blessing song that Paul is writing. His absolutely overfilled and overflowed with the presence of God as he is writing onto paper how beautiful it is to be united with Christ and have every – not some – every blessing in Christ in the Heavenly realms. Our blessings aren’t momentary. Our blessings aren’t physical. Our blessings aren’t a new truck, isn’t a person we want to date, isn’t the house we want to have, isn’t the career we desire to have. Our blessing is eternally set in who Christ is in eternity and cannot be taken away from you and I. Every spiritual blessing. Unending in who Christ is. Unending in the merciful, and great and loving and crucified, but yet alive and active Christ that we serve.
At any section in this section of scripture, can we just stop and say, “That’s enough. Let’s go home.”
…to be united with Christ. To be united with Christ is to be made one, to be harmonized with who Christ is. That needs to be the desire in our hearts.
As you guys know, I am absolutely zero percent gifted when it comes to being musically inclined. So, last night, I asked my wife, “What does it mean to harmonize?” And she tells me something along the lines of to work your voices, the sounds coming out of your mouth, together, to create one beautiful sound. In the case of worship, one beautiful sound of worship to God. To work together to create this harmony, this unity, this oneness in worship to who Christ is in our lives. And you and I get to be a part of being united, of being one, and in harmony with who Christ is.
I was convicted when I first started teaching God’s Word about a year or two ago because I thought every time I teach, it always ends on the same thing – Jesus. Hey, you need Jesus as your Savior. And I kid you not, I had a solid day and a half where I was thinking if that was like what it was supposed to be. And I was caught in this conviction: if I ever teach God’s Word and not end in the unity we have in Christ, then I am teaching Justo’s word. And I don’t want to be here as much as I don’t want to listen to myself talk.
To be united in Christ, our hearts, our lives, our existence, our souls know no greater joy. Think about that. It’s not fake. It’s not religion. It’s not made up. You can actually, tangibly, really, and relationally be united with Christ. Barachaha. What a beautiful meaning.
Let’s keep reading about the reason we have to celebrate in this blessing.
Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Paul rejoiced in the fact that he was chosen, that he was loved, that he was elected by God before the foundations of the earth.
And I know that’s a scary thing for us to wrap our head around. But here’s the reality. We are chosen. We are elected. We are predestined. And the only way that makes sense is when we take a step back and understand that our pea-sized brains (Pastor Dave used that phrase when he taught this series, and I love that) cannot comprehend the infinite, unmatched, undeniable, unchallenged, equal God that we serve and his plan that is at work where both predestination, free-will election and the ability you have to choose them simultaneously exist.
When we take that step back and say, Whoa! Do I have a reason to celebrate that I am chosen and loved before the foundations of the earth, no matter how much I have messed up! I love that it says that because it means that you and I can absolutely do nothing to earn our salvation, to earn our right standing because before you even existed, God already chose you and loved you. And you had no resumé to say that you were a good person.
But instead, God said not only am I the all-powerful ruling and reigning God, but I am your Father, and I have chosen you, and I have loved you way before the earth was even created, before time even existed. To be loved and chosen and united with Christ, we enter into this next reality that we have to celebrate as we have this wonderful pursuit in our lives as we are brought to unity with Christ in a desire to want to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
I love that it comes after being in Christ because here’s a reality. God didn’t choose you, God didn’t elect you, God predestined you because you were already holy because you were already faultless in his eyes. He brought himself to you. He sent his Son to die on the Cross so that as you accepted him, you realized that you were chosen. And now we have this fight, this run, this challenge ahead of us to be, to say God, just like Paul opened this letter in verse one, I desire to be God’s holy people who is a faithful follower, not of this world, but of Christ.
In a world where we can consume ourselves with goals and challenges and pursuits, a career, a person we like, the house we want to build – and those are cool things. But here’s the reality. When you die, when I die, our house will stay. Our car will stay. The person that we married – whether they go first or I go first – guess what? The only thing that lasts in eternity is the spiritual blessing that we find in verse three, that when you were chosen, you were given this blessing. When you confessed your sins and came to Christ, like the people of Ephesus with their books, guess what? You begin this race of saying God. I am coming to you dirty, absolutely filthy. Absolutely filled with this world, Lord. And I desire for you to break me, to shape me, and to allow me to be refined by who you are.
Pastor Dave once explained it to me in a really clear way. You don’t get clean before you take a shower. Just like you don’t have to “clean yourself up,” you don’t have to fix your relationship. When I came to Christ, in a moment that I didn’t even realize, I was sinning against the person that would be my wife. I was sinning against the person that I was dating. I was in sin, with the focus being myself and how in shape I wanted to be. But, as I came to Christ, he convicted me about spending three or four hours at the gym, but zero time with who my God was. He convicted me about crossing lines with this girl that I was dating when I said I believed in him and I wanted to live for him. You see – we come to God dirty, and then he makes us holy.
One of my prayers that I pray often (it’s also a fear I have) I hate opening God’s Word to only teach other people. I hate opening God’s Word to share a verse with someone. And it’s not that I hate it, I love it. I love sharing God’s Word. I love preaching God’s Word. It’s like Paul said, woe to me if I don’t preach his Word. But for me personally, if I don’t open his Word and meditate on who my Father is, on who my Abba is, who he is in my life, I don’t want to be telling you who he is in yours.
Here’s the truth. Without Christ, in this season of my life, I’m a horrible husband. Without Christ, I can’t bring myself to come before my wife and say I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m sorry for acting like a jerk. I’m sorry for being hungry and tired and not loving you like Christ loved the Church. Without Christ, I am a horrible son. I’m sorry Mom, I’m sorry Dad, for not checking in on you guys. For not heeding to some of the advice and wisdom that you want to share with me in my life. Without Christ, I’m a horrible brother. Without Christ, there’s no way I can attain to be a godly brother, a brother that God designed for me to be, both to my physical brother and to a brother in Christ with all of you guys. Without Christ, I can’t be a good friend.
I recently fumbled the ball at being a good friend. And that reminded me I need Christ in my life in order to continually have this wonderful pursuit in my life in rejoicing that he is my Creator and that I get to fight in this fight; I get to run this race with endurance and say, Lord, I want to be holy and without fault in your eyes one day. Not for my pride, not for me – just me. But Lord, for how glorious and mighty you are and how my soul desires to know you before I do anything else.
Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
He decided in advance He chose. He elected. He predestined to adopt you. To adopt me. into his HIS OWN family. Through his Son. Wrap that around your heads. Don’t get caught up in the predestination and free will, the stuff that the enemy loves to distract people with and fight against each other. But be caught up in the beauty of this section of scripture.
As I was reading and studying this section of scripture, I couldn’t help but keep thinking over and over again (for those of you that don’t know, and I asked my pops if it was cool that I share this story) my two older brothers and I were raised without a dad for nine years. I don’t know my biological father. It wasn’t until I was nine-and-a-half years old when God was faithful to allow my mom to marry my stepdad. And the only reason I say stepdad is for the clarity of the story. But all my brothers and I call him dad. And here’s the thing. I was shocked there was a man who wasn’t my biological father who reminded me, that poured into me, that told me who Jesus was in my own life. And every season of his life that I have been able to share with him, he has edified me, he has prayed over me, and he has reminded me that God has set me, like my older brothers, apart to live for him, not for this world. To be adopted into his own family. As I was reading this section of scripture, I was remembering what a faithful God that I have in sending who my dad is today. It emphasizes, even more, that he is not only God but our Father.
He desires, and it brings him great pleasure to adopt you and me into his family through his actual and only begotten Son. I would not crucify, I would not put to death my kid to bring you into my family. I know that sounds weird. But I am trying to paint it for you guys. And the reality that it gave him great pleasure in this plan that he had. It brought great pleasure within God’s justified and beautiful and righteous nature. Yes, he chose you. He set you before the foundations of the earth. He chose you and decided for you in advance. But that doesn’t mean that he predestined and elected people to go to hell.
As we see later in this section of scripture, as God draws you to himself, as God has chosen you, as he makes it known to you, in reality even this morning as you are here and if you’re wrestling, “am I chosen?” The question is “Have you accepted him? Have you confessed him? Have you given your life to him?’ Because, guess what? The fact that you are here and we are opening this beautiful section of scripture is evidence enough that God has chosen you and is drawing you to himself.
Ephesians 1:6 (NLT)
6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
You see, Father was used some fourteen times in the Old Testament, and it was never for an individual purpose. It was for the Father of the Nation of Israel. But the beautiful thing about the gospel, is that Jesus uses Father in a real and relational way, introducing something new into human existence that God is our Father. He uses it over sixty times in the gospel as he’s walking. The only time he doesn’t say Father is when he says, “God forgive them for they know not what they do,” as he was on the Cross. It opened this floodgate in our lives to be able to understand that he is our Father in Heaven. That it is because of his glorious grace, it is this praise that we have for him because we belong to him and his dear Son, through his Son, through the unity that we have through Christ.
Ephesians 1:7 (NLT)
7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
What a redemption story! To be forgiven of our sins and purchased solely and purely and only by the blood of Christ. Only through Christ, in him alone do we have redemption, do we have forgiveness, we are purchased.
The reality is not only did God create you and I, not only did he design you, not only did he knit you together like David says in Psalm 139, “You knew me before I even was…” He designed the inner complexities of your body. Psalm 139 says that you are his masterpiece. Not only did he create you, but he purchased you. Twice owned by God. Twice belonging to God in his beautiful plan of redemption, where our whole purpose is to bring him glory, and we get to experience the goodness of his grace. We get to experience the goodness of being united, of being one, of being in harmony with who Christ is as he becomes and continues to become our Abba, our Father in Heaven.
When I first gave my life to God, and I read sections of scripture where it says he knows the number of hairs on your head, in my head, I was like, “Yeah. Does he really, though?” And the reality is that is just the beginning! That’s just the beginning of how much he knows you. That’s just the beginning of how much he desires for you to know him because he already knows you, because he designed you, and he created you. He made you. He purchased you.
And you have a choice to be a slave to sin, to be a slave to this world, to be in baggage, to be broken, to chained, to be cast away, to spend eternity away from him – OR – to be his adopted from a slave to a son, from a slave to a daughter, to be adopted, to be kept, to have his glorious grace, to be purchased, to be united with who Christ is. Guys, it is night and day, and that doesn’t even fully picture the difference and the two options that you have. And the fact that you are listening this morning is evidence in and of itself that he is drawing you to himself. We don’t serve a God of coincidence. That fact that you’re here is the fact that he desires for you to know him, for you to understand that despite who your father is here on earth, despite whether you know your biological dad or not (like me), despite what the circumstances are at home with your mom and your dad, you have a Father in Heaven who loves you. And he just so happens to be the Creator, Designer, and Ruler of all existence.
To me, I’ve told you guys, I work really well off of imagery. I work really good off of picturing something. If I can picture something, I can learn it. If I can’t picture something, I am going to be like, “What are you talking about?” And to me, in my head – well, I’m really into this show called “Suits.” And they’re really big about titles and your name, and your title being underneath your name, because it is a corporate lawyer company. And as I was reading this section of scripture, I couldn’t help but think that in my name, to my door, it said my name: Justo Madrigal. “A slave to sin” And it was scraped away, the message was changed, and it said: Justo Madrigal “An Adopted Son of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, Who is United with Christ, and One Day Will Stand in the Presence of God Forgiven and Without a Single Fault.” It’s the same for you. What’s the title underneath your name? What does it say on your everlasting spiritual business card (you could say)? Because one is eternal, sharing in the glory of God, and one is eternal – not death – but dying in separation from Christ.
Ephesians 1:8-9 (NLT)
8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.
In these short two or three verses, you are chosen and drawn to Christ. You’re purchased, you’re forgiven, you’re showered in kindness, and are blameless before him. But wait, there’s more with getting all wisdom and understanding. You see, the wisdom that you get from Christ is not like the wisdom that you get from this world, from experiencing sin. The wisdom that you get from Christ is heavenly. It is what gave Solomon the ability to lead the kingdom. It is what gave David the ability to seek after God’s heart. And I don’t know about you, but instead of seeking the things of this world, instead of having the wisdom of this world, I desire to have the Solomon did to be a godly man and lead his people to God. I desire to be like David, and before I ever teach God’s Word is to know him and to have him in my heart, to be in constant pursuit of daily over and over know who my Creator is.
To be able to be a part of God’s redemption plan, for our good and ultimately purely and solely for his glory, that’s a privilege. That’s a privilege that we have that God is so gracious and loving and amazing enough to extend his hand into our lives. Look. You’re right there. You’re so close to the title change to belonging to me and being able to experience part of my redemption plan and one day be flat on your face in awe of who I am. As we read in Revelation, as you cast your crowns at his feet and you fall flat on your face, and you say, Holy, Holy Holy are you alone, God Almighty – all under the authority of Christ.
Ephesians 1:10 (NLT)
10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
Everything. All. Every. Any. In Heaven and on earth.
This is the reason to rejoice. The beautiful redemption story that God has and the beautiful way he allows us to be part of it. Not just now, but since the foundations of the earth, since before you even existed, since before you even formulated a thought. Since before your parents ever even met. He’s allowing you to be a part of his redemption story.
Hold on to that, guys. No matter what’s going on in your life, no matter what struggles you’re going through, no matter what hardships you’re in the middle of, no matter what loss you are wrestling through, this is a reason to celebrate, to hold on to who Christ is. And we’re going to see the inheritance that we have here in verse 11.
Ephesians 1:11 (NLT)
11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
The verbiage united with Christ it’s the same as in verse 3. To be one, to be in harmony with who Christ is.
An inheritance. Like none other. An inheritance that’s not money. An inheritance that’s not the dream life. An inheritance that isn’t the dream home. An inheritance that isn’t whatever prized possessions your loved ones hold. An inheritance that is eternally and forever in the presence of God as you get to bathe in his glory.
And this is what I need you guys to understand this morning. And like I said, we’ll dive back into this section of scripture on the complexity, on the doctrine that so many people build on this, a lot of it being true, a lot of it being wrong depending on what side you stand on. We are in a place where God is outside of time. And we are bound by the law of time, and God rules and reigns. He existed before time even began. He has no end. He has no beginning because he alone reigns and rules.
And because of that, God, in his plan, according to his plan, is able to have both at play at the same time where you are chosen, but you also have the ability to choose him. Where your free will and you also are predestined. Guys, for us to understand that fully in our lives, we’d have to be dead and in the presence of God to really, fully realize and wrap our head around that, and that’s when our faith steps in.
Our faith that he is God. Our faith that we will be united in Christ and that one day we will be in the presence of God and just be jaw-dropped at the marvelous grace that is to know what Christ reveals to us.
You see, we still have a responsibility. As we were chosen, as he draws you to himself, as you’re sitting here, as you’re listening online, you have the responsibility to respond to this word that has gone forth. And you are going to see that in verse 12 and 13.
Ephesians 1:12-13 (NLT)
12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.
13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
Unless you are born of Jewish cultural heritage into the Jews, the Tribes of Israel, you and I are Gentiles. It means a Greek. It means a person that is not Jewish. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the good news. And now you __________ (put your name) have also heard the truth. The truth. THE good news. You see, the truth IS the good news. When you believed (that requires an action).
The question is, have we heard the good news this morning? Yes. And in case you haven’t – here’s the good news. While you were still a sinner, that while you were still dead in your sins, consumed by the things of this world, God sent his one and only Son to die on the Cross for you. In other words, your sins put him on that Cross, and he willingly stayed there because he loves you and he desires for you to have a relationship with him, as he reveals you to his Father, as you’re covered by his blood, as now you’re in awe that now you are redeemed in who Christ is, and Christ alone.
And it leads us to the next question. Have you believed in Christ? You’ve heard the good news. It’s in your side of the ballfield now. It’s your hand to play. Have you believed? Have you placed all that you are in everything that Christ will always be for eternity? Have you surrendered your life and said, Lord, I need you. Christ I need to be united with you. I need to be kept by you. I desire, Lord, to be adopted into your family. I want to spend eternity with you, Lord. I want to be consumed by making you the foundation of my life. The strong tower of my life. My defender. My cornerstone. I desire to live for you alone. I desire to get rid of my will. Get rid of my flesh. Put to death the old man and become a new creation in you and you alone, Jesus.
The truth is you have the ability to cry out to God. You have the ability to call out to him and ask him to be your Savior. But look, what is so beautiful, blessing upon blessing, we have more continual celebration as he gives us his Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:14 (NLT)
14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
When you accept, when I accepted, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and stop playing the games and be real with who Christ is in our lives, we don’t get a Porche. We don’t get a car. We get the full power and radiating power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. And it is the seal in your life. It is the mark in your life. It is the significant mark in your life that makes it known to this world, to Satan, to the enemy, to the Father that you belong God. That you have been adopted, that you have been grafted, that he loves you, and that you are his child.
Have you believed? To live your life without knowing what it’s like utterly consumed by the Holy Spirit, to be in awe, to be in union, to be in harmony, to know that you have the confidence – not in yourself – not the confidence in someone else – but the confidence that you are saved because of the faith that you have in who Christ IS, and nothing can rip you from his hand. It’s something amazing to know, not only experience but to live in daily, as you take those steps of faith to live for him.
If you need Jesus to be your Savior., if you need Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, if you need to confess before him, if you need to realize that you need to be in union with Christ, if you need to be prayed over, if you need to be adopted into the life of God, if you need to be his son, if you know that if you died today you will spend eternity apart from Christ when you came so close as you heard his Word – if you need that his morning, if it’s a day of salvation for you, raise your hand to God.
Just pray right where you are. Call out to him. Confess that you are a sinner. Ask him to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to change you daily, and thank him.
You can pray something simple like this.
Lord, I admit I am a sinner. I need and want your forgiveness. I accept your death on the Cross as the penalty for my sin and recognize that your mercy and grace are a gift you offer me because of your great love, not based on anything I have done. I pray that you will come into my heart, be Lord over my life, and fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, for the faith to believe. In your name, I pray, amen.