…just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In
love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His
grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:4-6
This week we are looking at Gods Best Blessings and how to
recognize them in our lives.
The quantity of these spiritual blessings can be summed up
in one little word found in verse 3. It is the word "ALL". That
word tells us that in the Lord ,we find every single thing we need to live the
Christian life.
You see, God has held nothing back from His children. When
He saved us, He gave us everything we needed to serve Him. We have everything
we need right now to be content, to be successful, to be obedient, to be useful
to the Kingdom and to be happy in Jesus!
When you and I got saved, we got everything Jesus had to
offer us! We got it at that very moment, there is nothing else!
The Quality of These
Spiritual Blessings
In the verse above
Paul describes blessings as "blessings in heavenly places."
This means literally means that these blessings are things that originated in
heaven. They are not earthly blessings, but they are heavenly blessings! In the
most literal sense, they are "Heavenly Things!" With that in mind, it
will help us all to learn just what these heavenly things are. We are told in
verses 4-14.
·
He Speaks
Of Foreknowledge v.4 - This verse deals with the matter of election. For
some reason, God, in His wisdom, chose me before the world was formed. He knew
me before He formed me in my mother's womb and He had already determined that I
would be in His family. I cannot explain election and all the ramifications of
it, but I am still going to rejoice in it! One of the greatest spiritual
blessings we enjoy as saved people is the fact that we were chosen in Christ by
the grace of God, Rom. 8:28-31. (Ill. He loved me even though He knew all about
me. What a blessing!)
·
He Speaks
Of Family v. 5 - This verse tells us that we were adopted into the family
of God. That is, at the moment of salvation, you and I became the children of
God, 1 John 3:2. We are His sons and daughters with all the rights and
privileges that come to any child born in to the family, Rom. 8:17. (Ill. The Father
brought me into His family and made me His child. What a blessing!)
·
He Speaks
Of Favor v.6 - This verse reminds us that we are "accepted" by
the Father! When we received Jesus, we were reconciled to the Lord! There was a
time when we were outcasts and aliens, Eph. 2:12, but now, in Jesus, we are
approved by the Father! We have been brought near to Him by the blood of Jesus,
Eph. 2:13. We used to be on God's hit list, so to speak, but now, we are on His
list of favorites! This means that God is literally pleased with us! A lot of
Christians waste a lot of time trying to do what Jesus did when He died on the
cross - please the Father! (Ill. The Father is pleased with me, because I wear
the righteousness of Christ. What a blessing!)
Scripture to Claim:
And without faith it is impossible to
please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and
that He rewards those who seek him. Hebrews
11:6
