All Spiritual Blessings In Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about spiritual blessings in Christ?

The Bible teaches that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). According to Ephesians 1:3, God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. This means that every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness is found in Him. Paul emphasizes the importance of recognizing that these blessings are not found in our own works or church affiliation but are solely the result of a personal union with Christ.

Q: How do we know that God chose us before the foundation of the world?

The Bible confirms that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). The doctrine of election is clearly presented in Ephesians 1:4, which states that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. This choice was made according to the good pleasure of His will, indicating that it is solely God's sovereign decision to save those whom He has chosen. This teaching assures us that our salvation is rooted in God's eternal purposes rather than our actions or decisions.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to know they are accepted in the Beloved?

Knowing that we are accepted in the Beloved reassures us of our standing with God (Ephesians 1:6). Ephesians 1:6 teaches that we are accepted in the Beloved, referring to Jesus Christ. This acceptance is crucial for Christians as it confirms that our relationship with God is based on Christ’s righteousness, not our own merit. Understanding this positions us to live in assurance, free from guilt and fear, knowing that we are received by God with favor because of our connection to Jesus, who perfectly fulfilled the law and made atonement for sin.

Q: What does redemption through Christ's blood mean?

Redemption through Christ's blood refers to the forgiveness of sins and our liberation from sin's bondage (Ephesians 1:7). In Ephesians 1:7, Paul explains that through Christ's blood we have redemption, which signifies the forgiveness of our sins and liberation from the bondage of sin. This means that the penalty for our sins has been fully paid through Christ’s sacrificial death. The historical significance of His blood points to the deep cost of our salvation, emphasizing that it was through suffering and sacrifice that we are cleansed and set free to walk in newness of life.

I'm going to be speaking to you
today from the book of Ephesians chapter 1. We're going to begin
our reading with verse 3. Now I wish you'd pull up a chair
and listen carefully to every word of this message. I believe
that God will speak to you and to me through his word. And if
he is pleased to open our hearts to understand his grace and open
our eyes to see his glory this time will have been well spent. So will you for just a little
while listen carefully to the message I'm going to bring to
you on this subject. All spiritual blessings in Christ. All spiritual blessings in Christ. Now verse 3 begins this way.
Look at it in your Bible. Ephesians 1 verse 3. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words,
praise God, who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What
poor creatures we are, who have not the will, nor the vocabulary,
nor the understanding to praise God as we ought. The book of
Psalms is the book of praise. David wrote in Psalm 135, verse
19, Praise the Lord, O house of Israel. Praise the Lord, O
house of Aaron. Praise the Lord, O house of Levi. Praise the Lord, ye that fear
the Lord. And then do you know what the
last verse of scripture is in the book of Psalms, this book
of praise, this hymn book of the church? The last line in
the book of Psalms goes like this, Let everything that hath
breath praise the Lord. And that's the way Paul begins
the scripture that I have selected as my text today. Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we bless God,
we praise God, because He is God. That's the first reason.
He is God. Infinite in power, infinite in
holiness, infinite in love, infinite in wisdom and majesty, and He
alone is worthy to be praised. Our theme song goes like this,
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds
thy hand hath made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling
thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. How great
thou art, O Lord my God, how great thou art. We praise God
because he is God. And then we praise God, we bless
God, because He's the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now
this is important. You listen to me. John chapter
3 verse 16, which is a familiar scripture to every one of you.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Oh, the unspeakable gift of His
marvelous grace. He gave us the Lord Jesus Christ. Bless God who is the father of
our Lord Jesus Christ. He loved us and he gave Christ. Now then, let us never fall into
the error, into the mistaken idea that the atoning sacrifice
of Jesus Christ was intended to make God willing to show mercy,
to make God willing to love us. This is not true. God Almighty
loved us before Christ came. That's why he came. God loved
us before he gave Christ. That's why he gave him. That's
why Christ came. Listen to the scripture. Herein
is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and gave
his Son to be a propitiation for our sins. God loved us and
he gave Christ. He is the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And Paul wrote in Romans, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who according
to his abundant mercy and his abundant grace, even when we
were yet sinners, sent Christ to die for us. God loved us,
God commended this love toward us, and that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. So we praise God because he is
God. We praise God because he's worthy
to be praised, and he's the only one who's worthy to be praised.
And we bless God because he's the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. But now watch this. Look at the
Scripture. We bless God because he hath
blessed us. That's right. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us. He hath blessed us already. It
is done. The great transaction is done.
I am my Lord's and he is mine. If you'll read Romans 8, Verse
29 through 31, you'll find that all of God's purposes are declared
as if they were already done. Whom he foreknew, he predestinated. Whom he predestinated, he called.
Whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified.
All past tense. God hath blessed us. Not God's
going to bless us, or God will bless us. or God might bless
us, He has already blessed us. Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning, and He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessing. Now, you may not have all you
think you need physically, and all that you think you need materially,
but I can tell you this, you have all that you need spiritually
if you're in Christ. God hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings. What does the Word of God say?
We are complete in Him. He of God is made unto us all
we needâ€”wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Everything I need, I have in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Bless God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings. Now, here's where we want to
camp a while. Here's really my text, and here is the thought
of this message. He hath blessed us in Christ. That's where the blessings are.
That's where the glory is. That's where the grace is. That's
where the love is, in Christ. It doesn't say God hath blessed
me in the church, or through the church, but in Christ. not
through the ministry or because of the ministry, but in Christ.
I have these blessings not by association with a church or
denomination, but I have these blessings because of a living,
vital, personal union with Jesus Christ, God's Son. All of God's
blessings are in Christ, not in myself, and not in my devotion,
and not in my profession, and not in my faithfulness, in Christ. Look at that verse, Ephesians
1, 3. Praise God, bless God, everyone
that hath breath, praise God, who hath blessed us, who hath
given to us all spiritual blessings, life, pardon, forgiveness, relationship
with Him, eternal glory. He hath already blessed us with
everything we need. All I need, Jesus Christ is made
to me. All I need, wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption, it's in Jesus Christ. Listen
to the hymn writer. In Christ the Father's love was
freely to men given. In Christ the Father's righteous
grace secured our home in heaven. In Christ I've all my soul desired. He is my supreme delight, in
Christ all that the Father requires to turn my darkness into light,
in Christ the source of all my bliss, my Savior, my brother,
my friend, in Christ is all my righteousness, on Him alone I
defend. Now let's go to verse 4, and
here's where we want to camp a little while. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us,
who hath given to us all spiritual blessings, all that we need,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Now watch verse four. According
as he hath chosen us. Now, in the next few minutes,
we're going to look individually at these blessings. First of
all, it says, he hath chosen us. We're chosen in Christ. According
as he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him
in love. Now let me ask you three questions.
I want you to think a little bit. First of all, did you choose
God or did he choose you? Well, the scripture says Christ
himself declared, you have not chosen me, I have chosen you. And our text says, according
as He hath chosen us. So the answer to the first question
is, God chose me. God chose me. The second question,
when did God choose you? Now the scripture, find a scriptural
answer. When did God choose you? The
scripture says, He chose us in Christ, before the foundation
of the world. Because God is an eternal God. And everything he does is from
eternity. He does nothing in time that
he did not decree or purpose in eternity. He declares the
end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand. I will do
all my pleasure. God does not wait upon men. Men
wait upon God. Nowhere in the Scriptures does
it say God waits on men. It does say over and over again,
You wait on the Lord. So when did God choose you? The
scripture says, before the world began. Now the third question,
listen to it. Why did God choose you? We are
of all men most miserable in our sins and wretchedness and
depraved condition. Why did God choose you and pass
by many others? I'll tell you why. The scripture
says, according to the good pleasure of his own will. Not unto us,
O God, but unto thy name give glory." Listen to the Word of
God. Take your Bible and look at these scriptures. If you don't
have time to look them up, then write them down, look them up
later and read them. John 15, 16, Christ said to his disciples,
you didn't choose me, I chose you. In Acts 22, 14, Ananias
came to Saul of Tarsus, who had been awakened on the road to
Damascus. And he explained to Saul what had taken place. He
said, Saul, the God of our fathers hath chosen you, that you should
know his will, that you should hear his voice, that you should
receive the word from his mouth, and that you should be a witness
to many nations. The God of our fathers hath chosen
you. Look, if you will, at 2 Thessalonians
2.13. Paul is writing to the church at Thessalonica, and this
is what he says, I thank God, brethren, beloved of God, for
you, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation,
not to service, to salvation, through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth, never apart from holiness, never
apart from sanctification, never apart from the preaching of the
word. Never apart from belief of the truth, but through these
means. God is the God of all grace, and he's the God of means.
And God is the one who determines the end, and God is the one who
ordains the means to accomplish that end. And then in 1 Corinthians
1, 26, and this is a scripture every one of us ought to commit
to memory. Paul said, you see your calling,
brethren. You see your calling. Not many
mighty, not many noble, not many wise are called. But God, now
watch this, but God hath chosen the foolish things of this world.
Who chose them? God did. Whom did he choose? The foolish. God hath chosen
the weak things. God hath chosen the base things. God hath chosen the despised. And God hath chosen the things
that are not to bring to naught things that are of that no flesh.
should glory in his presence. The Eternal Father hath given
to the Son of people, countless beyond the stars of the sky or
the sands of the seashore, a people out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, and tongue unto heaven. The Father hath given to the
Son of people, and those people shall be redeemed by the blood
of his Son, and those people shall be called and wooed by
His Holy Spirit and brought to faith in Jesus Christ. I don't
know who they are, nor do you know who they are. But Christ
said He knew who they were. He knew who they were. He said,
I know my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I
give them eternal life. Christ knew from the beginning
who would betray Him, who would believe on Him. And then in 1
Thessalonians chapter 1, now listen, Paul tells you how you
can know who his people are. He says in 1 Thessalonians 4,
1 Thessalonians 1, verse 4 and 5, Knowing, brethren beloved,
your election of God. Don't be afraid of that word.
It's a scriptural word. Get your concordance and look
up the word. Don't be afraid of it. Put it
in its context. Put it in its proper place of
understanding in the scripture. Put it in God's sovereign hand
and God's sovereign wisdom. And it'll be a blessing to you.
Election is not the sinner's enemy, it's the sinner's friend.
If God had not been pleased to save some of us, no one would
be saved. If God had not been pleased to
choose us, we never would have chosen Him. If God had not loved
us, we would have never loved Him. If God had not sought us,
we never would have sought Him. And Paul said, knowing, brethren
beloved, your election of God. And here's how he knew. He knew
those folks were God's people. How'd he know? Because, verse
5 says, our gospel came not to you in word only. And that's
the way most people hear the preaching of the gospel. Just
words, words, words. I remember reading a story one
time about Mark Twain. He went to church one Sunday
and heard a preacher preach, and after the message was over,
the preacher was shaking hands at the door, and Mark Twain came
through the door, And the preacher said, we're glad to have you,
Mr. Twain. He said, the preacher, he said, I have a book at home
that has every word of that sermon in it. And the pastor protested
and said, no, I'm afraid you don't. He said, that's an original
sermon. And Twain said, well, I don't
care, original or not, I have a book at home with every word
of that sermon in it. And the preacher said, well,
I'd be interested in seeing that book. So Twain said, well, I'll
send it to you tomorrow by a messenger. Well, the pastor was anxious
to get it. The next morning, he waited at the door, and after
a while, a little boy came up bearing a book wrapped up in
paper, and he handed it to the minister, and he said, Mr. Twain
said, give you this book. And the pastor quickly unwrapped
it and looked at it. It was a dictionary. And when
he'd opened the dictionary, on the inside there were these words
written in Mark Twain's own hand. Words, preacher, that's all.
Just words. I have a book at home with every
word of your sermon, just word. No power, no Holy Spirit application,
edification. And that's what Paul says. He
said that's the way many people hear the gospel, just in words
and doctrines and creeds. But I know you're one of God's
own because that's not the way the gospel came to you. It came
to you in power, in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. Bless God. He hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings, and the first one is this. He
chose us in Christ. These blessings are all in Christ.
He chose us in Christ. Not apart from Christ, in Christ. All right, the second, we'll
look at verse six. It says in verse six, He hath made us, God
hath made us, accepted in the Beloved. Accepted. Now, this
word accepted means to look upon with approval, to look upon with
favor. When we accept someone into our
company, we're looking upon them with favor, we're looking upon
them with approval. And when you and I are accepted
of God, that means that we're received by God, we're received
unto Himself with favor and with approval. And immediately I know
you ask this question, well, how can that be? How can a sinful
person like me and like you be just with God? How can we walk
with God in His holiness when we're so sinful? How can He be
clean that's born of a woman? Well, we can't be approved of
God or accepted of God or received with favor by God in our own
righteousness because our righteousnesses are filthy rags. Paul said, in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. We can't be accepted of God because
of our righteousness, or because of our flesh, or because of our
works. By works shall no man be justified
in the sight of God. Now, we can win the approval
of men and women by our attitude, by our conversation, and by our
good deeds, but we can't win God's approval and win God's
acceptance because He looks not on the outward countenance, He
looks on the heart. And He weighs us, not in the
balances of human regulations and rules, but He weighs us in
the balances of His holiness. We cannot be accepted of God
in religious ceremonies. I wish you'd read the first chapter
of Isaiah sometime and hear God condemning these people for their
heartless ceremonies and their rituals and their form and their
paganism in prayer. He said, God said, I'm sick of
your prayer. Don't lift your hands in prayer
to me again. I won't hear you. We're not accepted
by God in our righteousness, in our works, in our flesh, in
our religious ceremonies. We're accepted in the Beloved. Who is the Beloved? This is my
Beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. We're accepted in Christ
because of His representation. He represented us, he came down
here on this earth as a human being, as a man, the God-man.
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. As in
Adam we died, in Christ we live. By Adam's sin we were made sinners,
by Christ's righteousness we were made holy. We're accepted
by his sacrifice, for it says, by his stripes we're healed. And then we're accepted by his
intercession. He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. Out in the front of our church,
we have a bulletin board. And on that bulletin board this
week, I have one of the most important verses of Scripture
to be found anywhere in God's Word. And that verse of Scripture
is this. There is one God and one Mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. We are accepted
in Christ because he represented us, because he obeyed the law
for us, because he died on the cross bearing our sins and satisfied
God's justice, and because right now he intercedes at God's right
hand for you and me. My friends, we are in the heart
of Christ. Having loved his own, he loved
them to the end. We're not only in the heart of
Christ, but we're in the book of Christ. The Lamb's Book of
Life. You know who that lamb is, don't
you? The Lamb's Book of Life. You know, a friend of mine was
going through one of the president's homes. One who's dead. And the whole crowd of people
were walking through the living room of this president's home. I think he was the man who was
president from Ohio. I'm not sure. But on the wall
of this former president's home was a picture. And it had a lamb
And that lamb had a sword through it, and it had a rainbow and
a throne. And the people were standing
there looking at it, and they said, well now, that's a strange picture.
I wonder what that means. And my friend spoke up and said,
I can tell you what it means. In the midst of the throne stood
a lamb as it had been slain from the foundation of the world.
That's Christ the Lamb. And he told those people, he
said, this is what this picture is saying, Christ is the lamb.
He sits on a throne because he's the sovereign. The sword represents
justice, piercing his heart, shedding his blood for our sins.
And he's the lamb, he's the, without spot or blemish, as a
lamb was sacrificed for our sins. That's Christ. And we are accepted
in him, in the beloved. We're in the hand of Christ.
He said, no man can pluck them out of my hand. And we're in
the body of Christ, baptized into one body by the Holy Spirit. Now look at verse 7. In whom
we have redemption. Now we're talking about blessing
God for spiritual blessing. Chosen in Christ, accepted in
Christ, and now in whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sin. Now listen to me a moment. Any sensible person listening
to my voice who knows himself, and who knows God is concerned
about his sins. That's right, he's concerned
about his sins. David said, my sins are ever
before me. Now God says if you deny you
have sin, you don't know yourself. Now listen, 1 John 1a, if we
say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth's not
in us. I don't know myself. If I say I have no sin, I'm not
just talking about murder and and drunkenness and theft and
those, I'm talking about sins of the heart and the mind, attitude,
the motive. Sin's God's sin. If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves. The truth's not in us. And more
than that, if we say we have no sin, we don't know God. We
not only don't know ourselves, but we don't know God. Because
it says, if we say we have not sin, we make God a liar. And
His word is not in us. Paul said, who shall deliver
me from this body of sin? Thank God, I have an answer.
In Christ, we have forgiveness of sin. We have redemption, forgiveness
of sin. Where are our sins? Well, the
Bible says they're separated from us as far as the east is
from the west. That's a long ways, isn't it?
The Bible says that they're cast into the depths of the sea. When
I was in the Navy aboard the ship in World War II, we used
to take the garbage, we didn't have any trouble with garbage
disposal, we'd just take it back on the fantail of the ship and
dump it out there in the middle of the sea, a mile deep, and
that garbage would just disappear into the depths of the sea, never
to be heard of again. That's where our sins are, in
the depths of the sea. And then the Bible says they're
behind God's back, Isaiah 38, 7, behind God's back. Where is
the back of God? Well, our sins are nowhere because
there is no such place. And then he says, I'll remember
them no more. Now watch this next verse, verse
10. We're not only chosen in Christ, accepted in Christ, and
redeemed in Christ, but we shall be gathered in Christ. That in
the dispensation, verse 10, of the fullness of time, God might
gather together in one all things in Christ, which are in heaven,
which are on the earth, Even in him that's reason Paul said
oh that I may win Christ and be found in him everything's
in Christ If you're looking for it in the church, it's not there
if you're looking for it in a preacher It's not there. It's in Christ
in Christ in the in God's appointed time He created the world in
God's appointed time. He sent his son in God's appointed
time Christ died Christ said the hours come the hours come
In his appointed time, he revealed Christ. When it pleased God,
he revealed his Son to me. And in God's appointed time,
his Son will return. Our Lord said, No man knoweth
the day, nor the hour, not even the angels in heaven, but my
Father. And in the fullness of time he might gather together
in one all things in Christ that are in heaven, that are on earth,
even in him. Now, last of all, verse 11. We are heirs in Christ. Let me
just give you the Scripture. in whom we have an inheritance
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. We have an inheritance. That inheritance is eternal happiness,
eternal glory, eternal union with the Son of God. Where is
it? It's in Christ. Those are the blessings here
and the blessings hereafter to be found in Christ. Take that
first chapter of Ephesians. and bless God for all spiritual
blessings in Christ.

All Spiritual Blessings In Christ

What does the Bible say about spiritual blessings in Christ?

How do we know that God chose us before the foundation of the world?

Why is it important for Christians to know they are accepted in the Beloved?

What does redemption through Christ's blood mean?

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All Spiritual Blessings In Christ

What does the Bible say about spiritual blessings in Christ?

How do we know that God chose us before the foundation of the world?

Why is it important for Christians to know they are accepted in the Beloved?

What does redemption through Christ's blood mean?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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