God Has Blessed Us
Ephesians 1: 1-14 “who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
One of my favorite Epistles is Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. Biblical Scholars tell us that even though it is addressed to the Saints who are in Ephesus, this letter was sent to many churches throughout Asia Minor. So this letter was addressed to the Body of Christ everywhere. Often Christians pray and ask God to bless them. But do we really have to ask God to bless us?
The Word of God informs us that we are blessed with every spiritual in the Heavenlies, in Christ. Every spiritual blessing means that every blessing we receive comes from the realm of the Spirit. There are three main blessings Paul teaches that we are now enjoying as children of God. First, God has CHOSEN us. This refers to the Eternal aspect of our Salvation. In eternity past, long before we were born or the world was formed, God CHOSE us in Christ. There is nothing we did to merit God's favor.
He chose us solely on the basis of His great love toward us. By an act of Grace and mercy God chose us to be His very own children. The second blessing Paul brings to our attention is that we have Redemption through the Blood of Christ, resulting in forgiveness of our sins. God the Father CHOSE us but God the Son (Jesus) redeemed us. To redeem is to buy by paying a price. We were all slaves in the slave-market of sin, bound by Satan.
Jesus by His precious Blood bought us out of the slave-market of sin, and forgave us of all our sins. Redemption means that we are no longer slaves to sin but are now free to love and serve God. A third blessing in the Chapter is that we are SEALED with the Holy Spirit (v.13). The Holy Spirit is referred to as our guarantee (earnest, down payment) that the full payment will be given when Jesus returns to this earth. The Holy Spirit's indwelling presence is a guarantee that God will consummate all His promises to us when Jesus returns to this earth and believers are resurrected.
In summary, let us take note of how the entire Godhead is involved in our Salvation. God, The Father Chose us. God, the Son, Redeemed us, and God the Holy Spirit Sealed us. The seal of the Holy Spirit is a sign that we are His and He is ours. We are Blessed!
Father thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us. May we walk in the reality of our redemption in Jesus name. Amen!
