All Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Text: Ephesians 1:3-14

There are many reasons to praise God. In our text, Paul emphasized the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ.

Spiritual Blessings

  • Predestination (v. 4-5) – tied to God’s foreknowledge (Romans 8:29); what God foreknew about the ones who would be predestined was their character; God predestined a specific class of people (holy and blameless)
  • Grace (v. 6) – God’s gift of salvation (Titus 2:11); not according to what we deserve (Romans 6:23); this grace is conditional (Titus 2:11; Matthew 7:13-14; 2 Corinthians 6:1)
  • Redemption (v. 7) – God purchased us from bondage to sin, so we belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20); purchased with the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19; Acts 20:28)
  • Forgiveness (v. 7) – sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2); all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and we are helpless to fix this (Romans 5:6); receiving forgiveness allows us to have fellowship with God (1 John 1:5)
  • Revelation (v. 8-9) – God made known the mystery to lead us to Christ; revealed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-12); given for all (Mark 16:15); to show us how to get in Christ to receive the other spiritual blessings (v. 13; Romans 1:16)
  • Inheritance (v. 11) – available to children/heirs (Galatians 3:29); this inheritance is “in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4); Christ has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:2-3)
  • Pledge (v. 13-14) – sealed with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:38); this is a pledge / down payment of our inheritance; God has assured us that He will save us if we follow Him; no need to worry about God failing to fulfill His promises

These Spiritual Blessings Are IN Christ

  • Predestination – “He chose us in Him” (v. 4)
  • Grace – “freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (v. 6)
  • Redemption – “In Him we have redemption” (v. 7)
  • Forgiveness – “In Him we have…the forgiveness of our trespasses” (v. 7)
  • Revelation – “He made known to us the mystery…which He purposed in Him” (v. 9)
  • Inheritance – “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance” (v. 10-11)
  • Pledge – “In Him…after listening to the message of truth…sealed in Him…given as a pledge” (v. 13-14)
  • All spiritual blessings are IN Christ – there are none outside of Christ (Acts 4:12)

How to Get IN Christ

  • If we know that all spiritual blessings are IN Christ, it is important to know how to access them
  • We get IN Christ by being baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27) – not saved by baptism alone (Galatians 3:26; Romans 6:11; 10:9-10); but baptism is how we get IN Christ