Ephesians: All of Grace

Ephesians 1:3-10 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  In whom we have redemption though his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him."

The blessings of God towards his people are amazing, they are spiritual blessings, and believers receive these spiritual blessings in that they are chosen in Christ from before the created order and they are chosen in Christ to be holy and without blame.  They are chosen in Christ to be sanctified, separation from sin to God, chosen to be made positionally holy and blameless.  God chose you for that before you existed.  We are adopted as his own children, he determined beforehand, he decreed from eternity that we would be adopted as his children, that we would be brought into the household of God and receive an eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus. 

By pure grace, which we have no right to, he has made us accepted in the very holy presence of God.  What blessings.  Anyone that would say "so what" or take these blessings for granted has never understood sin or God's holiness because that God would do those things for sinful wretches is absolutely astonishing.  Not to be amazed at these things that the bible says that God has done is to be an easy believer who sees salvation as a human right.  But the true Christian is saved by grace, undeserved mercy.  By grace, no one is saved as a human right.  The church needs to get away from the idea that humans have any right before God.  No one has rights to those things because salvation is of grace through faith.  Only grace.  It is only after we are adopted into his family that we become his children and the inheritors of eternal blessings from God and even then it is by Jesus Christ.  

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.  



Redemption through his blood: This is not something that we have anything to do with, but it is something that we have, that God does, "in whom we have redemption"  these are the blessings that God gives to his children, his chosen, adopted children..  Who is the "we,"  the whole world?  No, redemption is to the saints, the faithful in Christ Jesus.  It is Christians who are redeemed, no one else.  The thought is like a pawn broker shop where you leave the article and when the time is right you can redeem or buy back that which is yours.  Christ has redeemed us from slavery to sin and God's wrath.  He has redeemed us, he has paid the price for our sin.  Redemption was Christ's whole purpose in coming to this earth.  Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Matthew 26:28 "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."  Galatians 3:13 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."  This is Christians.  It's not saying the law is a curse, it says that we are redeemed from the curse of the law which is sin and death.  Slavery to sin and death.  Romans 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"  Its all to do with redemption, this purchase that Jesus paid. 

But note that it says "in whom we have redemption through his blood"  the channel is his blood, his blood shed.  We must understand this.  We as believers are not redeemed by his love, that is heresy, we are not redeemed by his love or his example as the liberals say, but we are redeemed by his blood shed.  The atonement for our sin had to be made.  God's wrath upon our sin had to be propitiated, had to be satisfied that justice was done.  It's by Christ's blood that we are redeemed as Christians.  How unpopular that is in modern evangelicalism that has a one attribute God, all love..  Rubbish..  the elect, the chosen, the Christian is redeemed by the blood-shedding of Christ.  He paid the price and anything less than that is not the gospel, but is a Satanic counterfeit gospel, it is of the devil because it denies the very heart of the gospel, the core of salvation, the redemption of sinners through blood shed by Christ.  If you do not believe that you are ransomed by the blood of Jesus, than you are not a Christian, because you are denying the very heart of God's salvation.  All of the old testament sacrifices and the new testament sacrifice of Christ, all that blood that was shed in the past, and the cross on Calvary where Christ's blood was shed, Christ's blood was offered as our ransom price.  His blood can make the foulest clean.

Redemption by blood is the only way and believer you have received that.  "in whom we have redemption through his blood" and that is for you.  Jesus bought you.  Do you think that it is a blessing?  it is a marvelous spiritual blessing.

Forgiveness of sins:  "the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace"  the Greek word means freedom from guilt, pardon, remission.  Sins means deviation from the truth.  All of our sins, all of our deviations from the truth are pardoned and forgiven, they are remitted.  Christian have you ever deviated from the truth?  You have a pardon, Jesus accomplished that.  Repentance and forgiveness go together.  Justifying sin and forgiveness do not go together.  The blessing is that those who are redeemed are pardoned and forgiven from all their sins.  What a blessing that is from God.  Christ bought you and his blood has made the foulest clean.  True believer, there is not one blemish on your account.  Jesus paid it all.  Do you believe that?  If you believe that you will never be down.  Just think, every blot has been wiped clean.  God's justice will not demand the same debt to be paid twice.  If it is paid, it is paid, and what God has done guarantees our forgiveness for the repentant Christian.

How can God do this?  How can a holy God forgive sin?  "according to the riches of his grace:" according to the abundance of his grace, the undeserved mercy, and in this area, God has abounded.  He has super-abounded,  he has exceeded any fixed number.  God can do this and has done this in his grace because of the wealth of his undeserved mercy.  He has given us far more, he has done this because of his immeasurable grace.  No one, besides what the unsaved brag, no one is going to strut up to God at the judgment and say that they had a right to salvation, its simply because of God's grace that anyone is saved at all, because no one has a right to salvation, no one deserved it, it is all of grace.  Its not because of you or me, its because of him, grace.

If you are a true Christian, than you have all these things, and God has given them to you.  Realize how rich you are in Jesus Christ.  

If you are not a Christian, do you want these blessings? if you do, call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved.  Come let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.   Come unto me and I will give you rest, that is God's decree for the person who is burdened by sin.  Its specific.  If you labor, if you are burdened then come to Christ and he will give you rest and you will receive all these blessings because of God's super-abounding undeserved mercy.
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The above notes were made by myself from the sermon by Paul Dowling of Whiteabbey Congregational (Reformed) at Sermon Audio.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=10707170171