Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.

                                                                                                               Ephesians 1:3-8a 

Before we begin, I have to admit that I have read through today’s passage numerous times but have just now begun to recognize and understand the exciting benefits and advantages that we as believers enjoy in Jesus. Paul mentions no less than twelve of them in the first portion of this letter. We will take two days to cover them, so let’s look at the first six.

(1) In Christ, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing

I love the language that Paul uses to describe the way God gives. “We are blessed with every spiritual blessing.” The word “every” conveys that God holds nothing back when it comes to blessing His own. We see similar language in today’s passage. “God’s grace is freely bestowed on us,” and “the riches of His grace He lavished on us.” We are told that Jesus came to give us life abundantly (John 10:10). Where the sin of mankind increased, His grace super abounded (Romans 5:20). God is able to do far more abundantly beyond anything that we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). His riches abound to anyone who calls on His name (Romans 10:12). And we can pray to be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19). All of these passages demonstrate the benevolence of a loving God towards those who believe. We can wake up every morning knowing that we have already obtained every spiritual blessing in Christ.

(2) In Christ, we are declared holy and blameless

When we are saved, we are declared to be holy and blameless in the sight of God. This is a position in which we remain all of the days of our life, primarily because this blameless state is not based on our behavior or performance rather it is entirely based on the perfection and obedience of Christ on the cross. When we begin to drift into a belief that our obedience, faithfulness, or performance somehow affects or maintains our blamelessness before God, we place ourselves back under the Law and bring into our lives unnecessary stress and strife. Carried out to its extreme, we can even forfeit our right standing before God because we have, in effect, traded Christ’s performance for our own (Galatians 5:2-4). But for the one who understands that his/her blameless standing before God is based entirely on faith and not works, that very faith is credited to that individual as righteousness (Romans 4:4-5). Our believing in Jesus from our hearts is what results in our righteousness (Romans 10:10). This holy and blameless standing before God is a spiritual reality for all who place their faith in Jesus and it exists even on our worst days!

(3) In Christ, we are adopted as sons and daughters

Believers are referred to in scripture as sons and daughters of God. In Christ, we are indeed His children. The misunderstanding you often hear in the world is that “we are all God’s children.” This is not entirely accurate. We are all God’s creation, but only those who are in Christ can rightfully call themselves God’s children. That is because an adoption into God’s kingdom has to take place for us to declare our rightful place in that kingdom. When we are saved, we move from alienation with God to becoming a child of God and a fellow heir of His kingdom (Romans 8:17). What belongs to God effectively belongs to us. This is a tremendous truth that believers should never forget and one to always embrace. In Christ, God now calls us His children.

(4) In Christ, God’s grace is freely bestowed on us

I like to describe mercy as God withholding a just punishment and grace as God blessing us, undeservedly, with good things. God demonstrated His grace when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of mankind (1 John 2:2). This grace is now extended to Jew and Gentile alike and is enjoyed by all who trust in the name of Jesus. We are all made in the image of God and therefore we all have intrinsic value in the eyes of God. We are demonstrating this truth every time we instruct our children about how much God loves them or when we share the gospel with a stranger. But sin has marked mankind ever since the fall, therefore, we are all equally in need of the grace of God (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23, James 2:10). And thankfully, although the Law caused our sin to increase, the sin of mankind is no match for the amazing love and grace of God (Romans 5:20). All of us are in need of grace and that grace is freely bestowed on all who believe!

(5) In Christ, we are redeemed

I would have to say that my favorite word is redemption. I think that’s because I have seen the redemption of God in my own life. Redemption is to buy back something that was previously lost. In the broadest sense, redemption is referring to God reversing the curse that came from the fall of mankind through the cross of Jesus Christ. And this redemption goes far beyond the redemption of my soul, which is essential for eternal life. God can redeem relationships, He can redeem time, He can redeem places and objects and situations. God’s redemption is not limited to the salvation of our souls rather it can permeate into any and every portion of our lives. As believers, we are free from the guilt and shame that accompanies sin. We are free to live our lives in service to others without any fear of judgment and it’s all because of the cross of Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:1).

(6) In Christ, we are forgiven of every sin, past, present, and future

Finally, in Christ, we have forgiveness. We are all created with essential needs that go far beyond food, clothing, and shelter. Humans are in need of love and acceptance. We need to know that someone cares for us and that we have significance and value. Without these essentials in one’s life, depression, despair, and desperation become realities. Mental health issues can often be traced back to a lack of love and acceptance in the life of an individual. As believers, we can be assured that we are loved and accepted by God and that all of our sin is forgiven. To forgive is to voluntarily give up on any rightful claim you would have toward another due to an infraction or trespass. When we say that we are forgiven, we are saying that God, in Christ, has given up on any righteous judgment that would have come as a result of our rebellion against Him. God forgives because He is a loving and benevolent God and takes pleasure in seeing us released from the accusations of the enemy. To be saved is to experience the tremendous forgiveness of God.

So why not take sometime today to thank God for these wonderful benefits and advantages. Thank Him for every spiritual blessing, for our holy and blameless standing before Him, for our adoption, for His grace, and for redemption and forgiveness. If you have never called on the name of the Lord and asked Him to save you, why not do that now and experience life as a recipient of all the goodness that comes from being in Christ.

And that’s not all; we have six more spiritual realities in which to explore and we will do that tomorrow. See you then!

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

                                                                                                                       John 6:35 

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

                                                                                                                   John 7:37-38