Series: The Book of Ephesians
Sermon: Identity#2
Bible Passage: Ephesians 1:3-6
I. “To the saints who are in Ephesus, that is, the believers in Christ Jesus” (1:1)
1. God changed sinners to “saints” and has left them to live in this world
2. How do you function in this world with a new status?
3. Today: We live in this world by knowing more about their identity!
II. Verse 3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
1. “blessed” – someone who deserves appreciation
2. Here in verse 3, the person who receives appreciation from Apostle Paul and his readers is God, who is further specified as “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”
a. “The God and Father” point to the same person
b. There is more clarity about the recipient of the appreciation (i.e., God the Father)
c. (one’s worship of God is directly proportional to one’s understanding of Him)
d. Jesus has two titles: “our Lord” and “Christ”
e. The possessive pronoun “our Lord” point to Jesus’ personal relationship with the believers
f. Jesus holds the title “the Lord” exclusively (neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit are addressed as “Lord” in the NT)
g. Jesus is “the Christ,” i.e., the Messiah
III. Verse 3: “who has blessed us
1. When the word “bless” is directed towards God, it refers to “praise” or “appreciation”
2. When it is directed towards man from God, it refers to “benefits from God” or “God’s enablement for success”
3. In this verse, it is God who “blessed” man
a. It refers to God’s benefit/equipment to/of believers “in Ephesus” to succeed
b. So that, the believers will both enjoy their status and fulfill their purpose
IV. Verse 3: “with every spiritual blessing”
1. The benefit that God has given to believers is spiritual in nature, from/through the Holy Spirit
2. “Spiritual blessing” refers to the enablement to succeed and flourish (as opposed to the worldly ones)
3. The spiritual blessing enables a believer to live effectively in society (Hoehner)
4. In 1:4-14, Apostle Paul lists three important blessings (each blessing ends with an expression “to the praise of his glorious grace”)
a. The Father’s election of the believers (4-6)
b. The redemption of the believers through the Son (7-12) (next week)
c. The sealing of the believers by the Holy Spirit (13-14) (the week after next)
V. Verse 3: “in the heavenlies in Christ” (geographical location!)
1. Though believers live on earth, their resources are where God is! (He is the Wise One)
2. To be “in Ephesus” they need to have their spiritual blessings “in Christ”
3. Therefore, the believers in Ephesus need to be in constant access to heaven to enjoy their blessings
VI. Verse 4a: “He [God] chose us in Christ”
1. The first spiritual benefit is “election of believers “in Christ”’
2. The word “elect” is the only complete verb in this long complex sentence
3. The verb “to elect” is in middle voice, thus, “He [God] elected/chose us to/for Himself …”
4. God is the subject of the act of “election”
5. God chose the believers with great personal interest rather than a random impersonal choice
6. In other words, if God had not chosen us, we would not be in a position to choose Him
7. (Therefore, “Blessed be the God and Father …”)
8. “In Christ”: God’s choice of the believers is in connection with Jesus’ redemptive work
9. The election of the believers happened before the beginning of the world
VII. “That we might be holy and blameless before Him” (εἶναι ἡμᾶς)
1. There are two purposes
a. They will be holy (saints) before Him
i. To be holy is to be different from the rest
ii. God did not choose a believer because he/she is a holy person, but He chose them so that they might become holy
b. They will be blameless before Him—“blameless”—no accusation
2. That the chosen is adopted as sons and daughters (verse 5)
VIII. Election—
1. It is about God electing some people to be “saints” that they will have a special relationship with Him as “sons” and “daughters”
2. The election of believers is for God’s interest
3. It is a carefully, conceived choice of God when He is fully aware of other options
4. God makes the choice not because the chosen has some merit to be chosen
5. The act of choosing is one of grace and not one of obligation
6. The Scripture is not clear about two things:
a. Why some have been chosen
b. And why others have not been chosen
c. We do not have the freedom to speculate this doctrine or to deny it
d. We must understand it as much as it is revealed in the Scripture
7. The Scripture does not teach that God has less love or hatred towards those who are not in the chosen category
8. Therefore, we must avoid any type of speculation
9. Caveat: we do not know about this election exhaustively. We can discuss about it only that much is revealed, permitted in the Scripture
10. With humility, we accept the doctrine of election
IX. The process towards “the chosen” status
1. Do the elected ones make any contribution towards their election and status change?
2. No, they are depraved just like anyone else—they are separated from God and were deserving punishment as much as anyone else
3. God through the Holy Spirit works on those who He “predestined” for election
4. We call this work of the Holy Spirit “regeneration”
5. The term “regeneration” refers to “softening” or “preparation of” the individuals’ “God consciousness”
6. In other words, the Holy Spirit prepares the predestined to respond to God when he/she hears the Gospel
7. Therefore, a person coming to know God is purely the work of God
X. Principles
1. Every believer is equipped to succeed in their new role
a. To be separated unto God
b. To be missional for God
2. Election of every believer is for the benefit and purpose of God
3. Every elected believer stands before God the Father blameless
4. Every believer is elected to be different from the rest (repetition)
5. The elected—“Jews” and “non-Jews,” now have a new identity, i.e., “the chosen”
6. The chosen ones are united with one another as a new unit, the Church, the Body of Christ
Take Away:
Bless God with amazement for God changing your status and His invitation to have a relationship with Him as His adopted sons and daughters