Ephesians 1:3-14
Have
you ever thought about; dreamed about; or fantasized about; what you would do
if you won the lottery? What would you do with $500 million? When I first
started working at the office I’m at now, there was an employee who had recently
inherited $10 million. He retired and went into full time mission work.
Ephesus
was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. It was a commercial,
political and religious center for all of Asia Minor. For these reasons, it was
a strategic city, and quite possibly that may account for why Paul spent almost
three years there during his third missionary trip.
He
may have reasoned that by reaching the people of Ephesus, he could reach the
world. Being such a strategic city, Paul must have believed it was important
for the Ephesian believers to understand what was included in their spiritual
blessings, or inheritance, in Christ.
With
that as a backdrop, most of today’s passage was devoted to the spiritual
blessings in Christ available to all believers. Paul started by writing that
believers have been blessed with “every
spiritual blessing in Christ”. He specifically mentions the following
blessings of our inheritance:
- We are holy and blameless in his sight
v.4
- We are adopted as a son or daughter
through Jesus v.5
- Grace is freely given to us v.6; and lavished
on us v.8
- We have redemption through his blood
v.7
- We are forgiven of our sins v.7
- We are a part of God’s plan who works out
everything v.11
- We have been marked with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit v.13
- This guarantees our inheritance v.14
These
verses give us our identity in Christ. They define who we are! Not our career;
not our family; not our church; not our wealth; not our good deeds; not our
sins; but our faith in Jesus Christ! We are sons and daughters of the King, and
He has given us a seal with the Holy Spirit.
“The Holy Spirit was given
to us as a promise that we will receive everything God has for us. God’s Spirit
will be with us until God finishes His work of making us complete. God does
this to show His shining-greatness.” New Life Version
The
question is, what will you do with your inheritance? The pastor emeritus of my
church recently shared a story about his granddaughter. For her fifth birthday
she received some monetary gifts. Instead of buying new toys for herself, she
decided to give those gifts to help others in need in Africa and Nicaragua.
What
would you do with $500 million? What would you do with a $10 million
inheritance? What would you do with the birthday gifts of a five year old? What
will you do with the inheritance that God has already given you?
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Eph.1.3-Eph.1.14
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