Lesson 5
Review:
1:3-6 Praise to the Father
a. The Father's
relationship to the Son. 1:3a
b. The Father's relationship to the believer. 1:3b - 6
[read]
1. Reality of
blessing
"Who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ."
-
It is the one who is worthy of praise, the only one who merited blessing
who has chosen to bless us, who are believers.
- "has blessed" = aor. ptc. from eulogew; point here in
Eph. is not when but what God did, the
stress is on completion; finished;
The question is are we going to live as paupers, or are we
going to exploit the wealth of spiritual resources given.
2. What is the nature
of the blessing that is in view?
It is spiritual! pneumatiko,j
It is the Holy Spirit who channels our riches to us from the
Father, through the Son.
3. The scope of the
blessings!
When it says "every
spiritual blessing" it is
saying that each and every spiritual
blessing in every conceivable form is available.
The Father has given us every blessing of the Spirit,
everything we need for a successful, satisfying Christian life.
4. The Sphere of the
Blessing; "in the heavenlies in
Christ!"
The logic here is this:
Jesus Christ died, was buried, He was raised, ascended to
heaven and is now seated at the Father's right hand.
Since we are in union with Christ, we are seated where He
is, that is in heaven.
** Observations on "blessing."
1. These blessings
are related to the ministry of the Spirit in our lives; pneumatiko,j.
2. These spiritual blessings are
"supra-mundane"; they are
above the earth; therefore they are above things, above the material.
3. Also
supra-sensual, they are blessings that you cannot feel with your senses, they
are above the emotional.
Use of "in
the heavenlies" in Eph. and its emphasis.
#1 1:3
We are in the sphere of blessing.
have all the resources needed to live a supernatural life;
CWOL; all are not found on earth in the
mundane things of life but are in and related to our position in Christ.
#2 1:20
We are in a sphere of power.
#3 2:6-7
We are in the sphere of an eternal display of grace; "ages
to come"
#4 3:10
We are in the sphere of the display of God's wisdom.
#5 6:12
We are in the sphere of a great spiritual battle.
** So we're in the heavenlies,
what does that really mean?? Can we get a grasp on it?
#1 It Dictates what our priority effort ought to be!
- Mt 6:19-20 = priority of effort;
#2 It Dictates what our priority concentration ought to be!
- Col 3:1-3 points to the focus needed, the concentration
on things above, DVPT.
#3 It Dictates what our priority values ought to be!
- Eph. 6:13-18 gives us the
values that are to be a priority; spiritual armor
1:4-6 Selection
1:4a The basis of our Selection
-
here we have the amplification and explanation of what has just been
said in vs:3; and a description of
the manner in which we are blessed;
1. The choosing!
- Why did He choose Israel?
** He selected them to mediate
His blessing to others so that through them as His chosen people Israel, others
would come to know Him! [idea of service]
2. When chosen?
Note carefully that it doesn't say that He selected us (pl)
before the foundation of the kosmos, the ordered
world.
What it says is that
"He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world."
ie. before the creation of the universe;
Eternity past; [before Gen 1:1]
Logic is this:
Christ is in heaven; we are in Christ therefore we are in
heaven.
When did God the Father choose the Son?
Conclusion:
Since Christ is the eternally chosen One and we are in
Christ; therefore we are then eternally
chosen.