Study of Ephesians- Spiritual Blessings of the Believer (Eph 1:1-12)

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by

Robert Piña
in

Introduction: In verse 3 our heavenly Father has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”. These are our spiritual blessings.

Our Blessings From the Father– Vs 1-6 

  1. He has Chosen Us– Vs 3-4 God did not make decisions in eternity past about who would be saved and who would be damned to hell (that’s a false teaching called Calvinism). What he did decide, before the foundation of the world, was that anyone who believed in Jesus Christ, would be holy and without blame, Ephesians 5:27. Those that believe in Jesus Christ are “in him”. Those that don’t believe in Jesus Christ, are not “in him”. Our part is to stay pure and cleanse ourselves- II Corinthians 7:1. 
  2. He has Predestinated Us– Vs 5 God had already decided that every person who entered by faith into Jesus Christ would have a predetermined destiny- heaven. Everyone who was in Christ would be elected and chosen to have eternal life. However, God gave us free will to chose to be IN Him or not. Here we are predestinated to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ- Romans 8:29-30 and Philippians 3:21. 
  3. He has Accepted Us– 6 God here calls Jesus Christ “the beloved”. We are accepted by God because of Jesus Christ when you are “in Him” by placing your faith in Jesus Christ and receiving His grace. We are accepted of the Father because we in Jesus Christ and that’s why were are accepted. 

Our Blessings From the Son– Vs 7-12 

  1. He has Redeemed Us– Vs 7 Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross and shed his blood for us, which redeemed us (that is to pay the price for our ransom) Revelation 1:5. See also Romans 3:24-26 and Romans 5:9. 
  2. He has Forgiven Us– Vs 7 Christ forgave us our sins. Because we have been forgiven, it doesn’t give us liberty to sin and do whatever we want. We have liberty to do right. God wants us to live a life that is Holy and set apart for Him- I John 2:1 and I Peter 2:24. When we do sin we go to Him for forgiveness and cleansing- I John 1:7-9. 
  3. He has made known the Mystery– Vs 8-10 According to Ephesians 5:30-32 this is the mystery of the body of Christ. According to I Corinthians 12:12-27 when we believe in Jesus Christ, we are baptized into the Body of Christ and we become a member of His body, of His Flesh and of His bones. 
  4. He has Given us an Inheritance– Vs 11-12 There are two inheritances connected to the Christian. One is conditional and one is unconditional. The first is the unconditional- when we place our faith in Jesus Christ we obtain eternal life Acts 26:18. You don’t have to do anything else, you are IN HIM, you have eternal life. The second is the conditional- you can reign and rule with Jesus Christ during his earthly 1,000 year long kingdom if you suffer for Jesus Christ Romans, 8:16-17, II Timothy 2:12, this happens at the Judgment Seat of Christ- I Corinthians 3:10-15. 

Our Blessings From the Spirit– Vs 13-14 

  1. He has Sealed Us– Vs 13 The sinner hears the Word of Truth, trust in Christ, receives the Holy Spirit, and is sealed forever- Ephesians 4:30.
  2. He has give us an Earnest– Vs 14 The earnest is the Holy Spirit, it is a “down payment” for when we are fully redeemed. At salvation our soul and spirit were saved, but we still have the same body we were born with. When Jesus Christ come for his church at the rapture, we will receive a glorified body and be fully redeemed. Until then, the holy spirit is our earned or “down payment”. II Corinthians 1:22 and II Corinthians 5:5. Romans 8:18-23.
    • Conclusion: These are the spiritual blessings that a Christian receives.