Ephesians 1:3-14

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading & Lesson — Ephesians 1:3-14
• Sermon
• Prayer of Dismissal

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Sermon Title: Every Spiritual Blessing in Christ

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

I. Introduction: The Nature of This Passage

A. In the original Greek, Ephesians 1:3-14 is a single sentence — a cascading doxology of praise B. Commentators have described it variously: a magnificent gateway, a golden chain of many links, a kaleidoscope of dazzling lights, a snowball tumbling downhill gaining volume, a long-winded racehorse careering forward at full speed, the flight of a bald eagle circling toward its apex C. The passage has a liturgical, hymnic structure

1. Three stanzas corresponding to the three Persons of the Trinity
2. Each stanza followed by the refrain "to the praise of his glory" (vv. 6, 12, 14)

II. The Trinitarian Structure of the Passage

A. God the Father: the originator of blessing (vv. 4-6)

1. Key verbs where God is subject: blessed (v. 3), chose (v. 4), predestined (v. 5), blessed (v. 6), lavished (v. 8), revealed/set forth (v. 9), united (v. 10) B. God the Son: the sphere within which blessing is given and received (vv. 7-12)
2. The phrase "in Christ" / "in him" appears some 15 times in these 14 verses; Paul uses it 164 times across his letters
3. Key phrases: blessed in Christ (v. 3), chosen in him (v. 4), blessed in the Beloved (v. 6), redemption in him (v. 7), set forth in Christ (v. 9), unite all things in him (v. 10), first to hope in him (v. 12), believed in him (v. 13)
4. By contrast, apart from Christ we are hopeless and without God — Ephesians 2:12 C. God the Holy Spirit: the applicator of blessing (vv. 13-14)
5. Though explicitly named only in vv. 13-14, the Spirit's activity is implied throughout — the blessings are described as "spiritual" (v. 3)
6. Charles Hodge: the blessings are spiritual not merely because they pertain to the soul, but because they are derived from the Holy Spirit, whose presence and influence are the great blessing purchased by Christ

III. The Temporal Scope of the Blessings

A. Past blessings: election (vv. 4-6) B. Present blessings: adoption and redemption (vv. 5-8) C. Future blessings: unification of all things in Christ (vv. 9-10)

IV. The Heavenly Places

A. The phrase "in the heavenly places" is unique to Ephesians, used five times B. It does not refer to a physical spatial location but to a sphere or realm of spiritual reality C. This realm contains both spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12; 3:10) and the exalted, reigning Christ (Ephesians 1:20) D. Believers are seated there with Christ (Ephesians 2:6) — all spiritual forces are subject to him

V. The Seven Spiritual Blessings

A. Election — chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless (v. 4)

1. Election does not destroy human choice; it enables a choice that fallen humanity could never otherwise make
2. Salvation is entirely God's work from beginning to end — Jonah 2:9
3. Old Testament blessings were primarily material (Deuteronomy 28:1-14); New Covenant blessings are primarily spiritual (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 6)

B. Adoption — predestined as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ (v. 5)

1. We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ — Romans 8:17
2. We have access to the Father in prayer, embraced as his children

C. Redemption — freed from the bondage of sin through Christ's blood (v. 7)

1. In antiquity, slavery arose from birth, conquest, or debt — Scripture addresses all three
2. Born into sin: Psalm 51:5
3. Conquered by sin: Psalm 19:13
4. Enslaved by debt: Romans 6:23
5. Ransomed by Christ's precious blood: 1 Peter 1:18-19

D. Forgiveness of sins — the slate wiped clean; distinct from redemption (v. 7)

1. Psalm 103:3, 12: as far as the east is from the west, he has removed our transgressions from us

E. Revelation of God's purpose — the mystery of his will made known: to unite all things in Christ (vv. 9-10)

1. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord — Philippians 2:10-11
2. Comfort for believers living in a disordered world: the outcome is already decided

F. Sealed by the Holy Spirit — authenticated as God's children (v. 13)

G. The Holy Spirit as guarantee of inheritance — a deposit securing the final, full inheritance to come (v. 14)