Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

I've been memorizing Ephesians 1  and have pondered over the phrase in verse 3 "I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places"  It has eluded me so I went online and asked that question.   Below is what I found.   It was/is all there  right under my nose, in the verses I've memorized and I just didn't see it.   I want to share it here as I think these are essential truths in our faith we  need to ponder.   



1. Chosen Before the Foundation of the World (v.4)
To know you’ve been chosen before the foundation of the world is to know that your life matters. Your existence isn’t an accident or by-product of natural selection. God has been thinking about your destiny before He ever said, “Let there be light.”
2. Holy and Blameless (v.4)
In Christ you are holy and blameless. This means you are fit to serve Him and worship Him despite your shortcomings. God enjoys you when you approach Him and He gladly moves through your life to touch others, not because of your own righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed or attributed to you.
3. In His Love (v.4)
In Christ you stand in agape or unconditional love. You cannot earn it. Today, you are unconditionally loved in Christ. Have you received it? Make the following confession today, “Jesus, I receive your unconditional love.”
4. Predestined to Adoption (v.5)
God has predetermined to call you His own in Christ. He has selected you to be His son or daughter. You are a part of His family. He is your Father. Many times when parents adopt a child, they go through a selection process for making a decision on who they will adopt and who they won’t adopt. God already went through His decision-making process about you a long time ago and decided to adopt you as one of His children.
5. Accepted in the Beloved (v.6)
You are not rejected. You are not an outcast. You are not unworthy of approval. The Creator of the universe accepts you in Christ. You have been relationally reconciled in Christ and are pleasing to God. You might not have health in all of your relationships right now, but, in Christ there is nothing between you and God today.
6. Redemption through His Blood (v.7)
Outside of Christ you were a slave to sin and eternal death. You couldn’t buy or earn your way out of it. The price for your freedom was the precious blood of Jesus. Jesus wasn’t a slave. Jesus was already free. Jesus paid for your freedom anyways.
7. Forgiveness of Sins (v.7)
In your life you have turned your back on God morally. You have consciously rebelled against His law in your heart. You have ignored His wisdom and thought yourself to be the wiser many-a-time. In Christ, you are forgiven today.
8. Riches of His Grace Abound To You (v.7-8)
Grace means “unmerited favor.” Abound means “to have in abundance.”  In Christ, there is an abundant measure of unmerited favor flowing to your life like a river that will last from here into the never-ending depths of eternity.
9. Made Known to You the Mystery of His Will (v.9)
In a fallen world of war, suffering and disease; a sinful world where bad things happen to good people; God has revealed His solution to us. He wrapped-up every answer to every aspect of the human condition in Christ and He gave it to us.
10. Obtained An Eternal Inheritance (v.11)
Revelation 21:4 describes Heaven in the following manner: And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
11. Heard the Word of Truth (v.13)
God’s truth is a light in darkness. We are not without counsel. We are not left in the dark. We have heard His good news and discovered the path of life.
12. Sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise (v.13)
The Promise of the Holy Spirit that was prophesied about by Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Joel, John the Baptist and Jesus has been made available to you in Christ today!
13. You Know the Hope of His Calling (v.18)
His calling over your life is the basket you can put all of your eggs in. It’s an anchor. It’s a rock. It will never end in vain.
14. You are the Riches of His Inheritance (v.18)
You are of great value to Jesus. As Christ brought you back to God, God gives you back to Jesus as His inheritance. You are valuable in Christ, you are the righteousness of God in Christ. You are His eternal reward that He cherishes.
15. The Exceeding Greatness of His Power (v.19-20)
Paul says the exceeding greatness of His power is toward you who believe. What kind of power of this? It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead! It is the same power that conquered sin, death and hell. In Christ, this same power is present in your life today!
So I have just one question for you: Are you blessed today?


Andrew Mason http://www.smallgroupchurches.com/