Ephesians 1:3-14 “The Believer’s Blessings”

³  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
⁴  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
⁵  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
⁶  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
⁷  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
⁸  which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
⁹  making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
¹⁰  as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
¹¹  In 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,
¹²  so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
¹³  In 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,
¹⁴  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

This passage is one of the clearest texts in the New Testament on the biblical doctrine of predestination.

This biblical doctrine has been misunderstood, misused, and made by some to be a dividing point among believers, churches, and entire denominations.

Surely, this ought not be.

If one is to believe the Bible, you must believe something about predestination since it is mentioned five times in the New Testament (Acts 4:28; Romans 8:29, 30; Ephesians 1:5, and 11).

The problem is not that this doctrine is complex; it is not. The problem is that it totally destroys any foolish hope of humans that we can do anything to save ourselves (which is called, Peligianism) or even assist God in our salvation. (which is called, semi-peligianism).

We are completely fallen, lost, and helpless. God, and only God can save us. (This is called biblical Christianity).

Here is how simple this biblical word and doctrine is…

“pre” means “before”

“destination” means “where one is going”

“Predestination” means to determine before something where one is going.

Biblical “predestination” simply means that God determined before the foundation of the world what our destination is going to be.

God. Only God. And without our help or the help of anyone or anything else.

When Jesus prayed HIS High Priestly Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane following the Lord’s Supper in John 17, HE spoke to HIS Father about the people who are predestined to be HIS people.

We are going to spend some time in John 17, so I encourage you to read it a time or two and think about what Jesus says about HIS people.

Pay attention to the pronouns and the often repeated phrase, “those whom You have given Me.” Two things to note about these twelve verses:

First, Paul breaks out in a doxology of praise; and, second, there are TEN specific blessings mentioned in these verses!

Take a few moments and list the blessings and see if you find all ten…

Make note of any questions you hope to hear answered in the Sermon. (If you don’t hear an answer, please email me and I will answer any question you have.)

As always, “I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!”