Ephesians 1 3-14
- This whole passage is one sentence in Greek
- Paul is beyond excited to get his message out
- in Christ we are adopted into God's family
- God gets giddy over us
He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:7-8 NLT
In Christ we have been freed and can be forgiven our sin
- we are free from the futility of an empty life
- we get enslaved to whatever we are living for
- job
- popularity
- kids (how good of parents we are)
Are you living for the validation of somebody? Or from who God says you are?
In Christ we anticipate God will accomplish his plan and keep his promises
In Christ we can be confident that he is working through it all and that it will be worth it all
All 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. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God 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.
Ephesians 1:3-5 NLT
The Father initiated the plan by choosing us
- God has been thinking about you for a long time
- did it dawn on you that nothing has ever dawned on God?
Did God choose us? Or did we choose God?
- pre destination vs free will
- could it be both?
- these doctrines feel contradictory, but in eternity they may make perfect sense
- think of explaining complex concepts to a child
- how much more must God understand than us?
- we don't need to understand it all, we need to trust
Christianity is nothing without the blood of Christ