Ephesians 1
Paul’s opening to the church
Ephesians 1:1–7 (NLT)
1This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will
of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in
Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
give you grace and peace.
3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
realms because we are united with Christ.
4Even before he made the world, God loved us
and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
5God decided in advance to adopt us into his
own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he
wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
6So we praise God for the glorious grace he
has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
7He is so rich in kindness and grace that he
purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
The whole bible is
good for us!
·
Sometimes we tend to overlook the opening of book
in the bible, or any letter for that matter
·
And we lose so much of where the author is
coming from and the intent for the letter, the audience there targeting
·
And especial in the bible it’s so important to
read it all!
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NLT)
16All Scripture is inspired by God and is
useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our
lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
17God uses it to prepare and equip his people
to do every good work.
He sets the tone
VS 1This
letter is from Paul, chosen by the will
of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2May God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
give you grace and peace.
3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
realms because we are united with Christ.
·
Who writes it? Paul
·
By who’s authority? God’s
·
Who is it to? Gods people, the church, the local
church in Ephesus
o And
they are faithful followers!
·
Who is in charge? God the father, and Jesus the
lord
·
Why to us, the followers? Because we are united,
with Jesus
Why is this
important?
·
1st, Paul lays out his position,
o servant,
appointed by God
o not
his authority, but Gods
o he
takes the humble role
·
2nd Because this is for believers
o The
local church
o And
the members of that church
o Not
just anyone, but the Gods children
·
3rd he establishes God as our Father,
and Jesus as our Big brother
o where
we find peace
o where
we find grace
o where
we seek refuge from a dark world
·
4th he gives the praise and glory to whom
it belongs
o God
and lord Jesus
o For
blessing us with salvation
o For
all that a waits us in heaven
o For
giving us away out of the mess we created
o All
because we are united in Jesus, through the cross, where he paid for all our
sins!
Your royalty!!!
Ephesians 1:1 (ESV)
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will
of God, To the saints
who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
·
How cool is that, your royal, not by birth, but
by choice
o Adopted
in the family
o We
are special, we have privilege, we have something waiting on us
o Our
father is the creator of all things
o Our
big brother is the King of all Kings
·
My question is, are you acting like it??
o Are
you representing your royal family?
o Are
you acting according to your new status?
o Are
you shedding old habits?
o Is
your image changing to represent your new family?
·
Are you carrying the old bags?
o Your
old sin
o Your
un-forgiveness
o Your
pride
o Your
self-doubt
o Your
guilt
It is the honor not only of ministers, but of all
Christians too, to have obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.—In Christ Jesus, from whom they derive
all their grace and spiritual strength, and in whom their persons, and all that
they perform, are made accepted.[1]
You were chosen!
4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be
holy and without fault in his eyes.
5God
decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to
himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him
great pleasure.
6So we
praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his
dear Son.
·
This is sometimes the hardest thing to accept
o That
God saw you in all your brokenness, all your failures
o And
said I want you, yes you
o I
sees you for who you truly are, and yes I love you
o Unconditionally,
no strings, no expectations
o That
he loved us so much, that he would make a way for us to be reconciled to him
o Is
mind blowing
·
Until you get you head around that, it’s hard to
have the relationship that God wants with you
o If
we doubt this
o If
we don’t fully accept the fact
o That
God truly loves us, no strings
o That
all he wants is what’s best for us
o It’s
hard to fully open your heart to him
o To
give your whole self over to him
o To
fully trust whatever happens, is for your good, and his glory
The difference
between Christianity and all other religions!
·
We praise God, we change, we try to please him
for one reason
·
Because he loved us first
o Because
he sacrificed first
o He
set no expectation
o And
because of that we obey
o No
because we have to, but because we want to
·
You can’t help but change, when you truly get
you mind wrapped around the love God has for you!
·
And every other religion will call for you to
first act and continue to act.
o Out
of fear of losing your salvation
[1]
Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s
commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p.
2307). Peabody: Hendrickson.
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