Ephesians 2
Paul’s opening to the church
Ephesians 1:7–14 (ESV)
7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Christ Is the key to Gods plan, Not you!
7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
• Jesus is the key to Gods plan period
• He is the author of it, and will carry it out
• We talked last week about getting our head around us being saints
o That our sin is no more, that we only need to give it to Jesus
o That we were chosen, adopted, picked out and God saw us with all our faults, failures, sin
• Part two of that is understanding Jesus is the author of it all. And that we are all expected to run to him!
o He is the redeemer we seek,
o whose wisdom we lean on,
o to reveal the mystery of Gods plan for us all
o that God set this all in motion through Jesus
o and one-day God will, in his time, unite all things in heaven and on earth under his lord ship
Let’s break it down!
Redemption-
• What does redemption mean? Its primary usage in the Bible is to buy back from slavery.
• Your sins were bought at a price
• And that price was Christ Blood
• Poured out at the cross
Forgiveness if Sin-
• We are all guilty of something
• And Redemption releases us from the bondage of sin
• Gets rid of the guilt
• Removes the shame
• Sets us free,
I labor this point because the contemporary view is that God doesn’t really take sin seriously. Yes, he acknowledges that evil is evil, but what he does with evil is that he simply forgives it. The means of redemption, however, is the blood of Christ. Nothing could speak louder about how seriously God views the problem of the alienation that exists between us and him because of our rebellion through our sin. An atonement was made, a blood sacrifice was offered, and that becomes the basis of the forgiveness of sin. So redemption is accomplished through the atonement of Christ.
His grace, His wisdom, His insight –
• It’s because of God’s grace
• Grace that he lavished on us
o When is the last time anyone lavished you with anything?
o Lavish means generous and extravagant as an adjective and to give generously as a verb.
o You were lavished in his grace, his mercy, and in giving the gift of eternal life, to allow you to cheat death
o Lavished in the Love of a father, who sees you in your sin, your depravitiy, and still given saint status!
• It is in his wisdom and insight
o Not your limited knowledge
o Not your small view of what is good
o Not your insignificant view of life and what’s important
o His wisdom is greater
o His insight is perfect
o And when you see that the Bible, his word, his instruction becomes important!!
Making know the mystery, of his purpose, which he set forth in Christ! -
• Gods ways are bigger than ours
• And at the right time he showed us his purpose in Christ
o To redeem the world, not just the Jews
o To set his people apart not by works but by faith
o And all was set forth in the life, death and resurrection of Christ on the cross
o The one true sacrifice, the only sacrifice that would fulfill Gods need for atonement (the debt paid) for our sins
And that one day the plan would be made complete –
• To unite all things
• To bring all things
• On heaven and earth under him
• For Gods glory
And its available to ANYONE, for anyone who BELIEVES!
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
To understand this, we have to look at author!
• We all have past
• We all think there is no way he wants me
• We all think there are people that are beyond Gods reach
• And Paul is our shining example that know on is beyond the saving!
From Saul to Paul
Saul first appears
Acts 7:58–59 (ESV)
58Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
• Stephen a follower of Christ preaches to the crowd of Jews
• And is speaks the truth
• And the crowd is outraged to the point that they stone him to death
• And Saul is there to hold their coats
•
Saul goes after believers
Acts 8:1 (ESV)
1And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Acts 8:3 (ESV)
3But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
• He went house to house dragging people to prison
• Sons, daughters, husbands and wives were all dragged off at Saul’s hands
• But that was not enough
Acts 9:1–2 (ESV)
1But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
2and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
• His rage grew
• And he went after all followers
• He wanted to parade them in front of all, proving that they served the wrong GOD!
And then Jesus happened!
Acts 9:3–4 (ESV)
3Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
4And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Acts 9:20–22 (ESV)
20And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
21And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”
22But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
• Jesus can use anyone, anytime any place
• There is no one beyond his reach
• No one beyond his love
• No one too far gone
• Saul was not seeking Jesus, wasn’t pursuing him
• Jesus found him, and used him!
And Paul emerges
1 Timothy 1:12–15 (ESV)
12I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
13though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
14and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Philippians 1:21 (ESV)
21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
• When we truly believe
• When we truly get our head wrapped around that we are saints
• That it’s all about Him
• That Gods plan revolves around the redemptive work of Christ on the cross
• There is nothing God can’t do in us and through us!
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