Wednesday, October 30, 2024

2024.10.30 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ephesians 1:3-14

Read Ephesians 1:3-14

Questions from the Scripture text: Of Whom is God the Father (Ephesians 1:3)? With what spiritual blessings has He blessed us? Where? In Whom? What else did God do to/for us in Christ (Ephesians 1:4)? When? For what end purpose/result? To what has He predestined us (Ephesians 1:5)? By what means? According to what reason? For what further/ultimate purpose (Ephesians 1:6)? What did He make us by that grace? What do we have through His blood (Ephesians 1:7)? According to the riches of what? What has He made known to us (Ephesians 1:9)? Where/in-Whom did He purpose His good pleasure? In whom did He plan to gather together all things (Ephesians 1:10)? For when did He plan this to happen? What did we obtain in Christ (Ephesians 1:11)? How many things does God work according to the counsel of His will? What was God’s purpose for the first believers’ trusting in Christ (Ephesians 1:12)? What brought about the Ephesians’ faith (Ephesians 1:13)? How were they sealed when they believed? What is the Holy Spirit to us (Ephesians 1:14)? Until when? Unto what ultimate purpose?

What is God doing? Ephesians 1:3–14 helps us prepare to hear Ephesians 2:1–5 proclaimed in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these twelve verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God does all things, to bring us into our inheritance with Christ, unto the praise of His glorious grace.  

This passage teaches us why God created the heavens and earth. The answer, of course, goes back into eternity (Ephesians 1:4). God had predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself (Ephesians 1:5).

But how could this come about? How could creatures come to be united to the God the Son, the Creator? Because God, who had chosen us to be holy and blameless before Him in love refused to allow us to perish in our sin.

This adoption in everlasting love has its own “why” purpose. To the praise of the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6).

His giving us the inheritance of being like Him and with Him forever has the same purpose. That believers would be to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:12).

When at last we are displayed as the blood-purchased possession of Christ, it will also be unto the same purpose. To the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:14).

This is the chief end of man: that the elect would glorify God by eternally enjoying Him as His own dear children as the glorified brethren of the Firstborn, our Lord Jesus Christ!

Whatever you are going through, this is what your trial is accomplishing! Whatever else God intends to do through the task in front of you, this is what the duty before you will ultimately accomplish! 

Indeed, everything that God does, in all places, at all times, is for the purpose of bringing us into our inheritance (Ephesians 1:11): conformed to Christ, and blessed with His own blessedness (Ephesians 1:3), as adopted children, to the praise of God’s glorious grace. And the greatest thing that He has ever done, the great mystery of all of history, was the shedding of Christ’s blood to obtain that inheritance for us (Ephesians 1:7-10).

There is no more comfort-assuring, joy-enlarging, purpose-giving doctrine than God’s eternal, adopting election to the praise of His glorious grace!

What are you going through? What tasks lie before you? What is happening in all the world? What is God doing through all of these things?  

Sample prayer:  Lord, we bless Your Name, as Christ’s God and Father, and our God and Father. Thank You for adopting us as Your children in Him, and purchasing this adoption by His blood. Grant that, just as You have done all things for the praise of Your grace, that we also would do all things for the praise of Your glorious grace. Unto that end, keep helping us by Your Spirit, we ask through Your Son, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP128 “How Blessed Are All” or TPH425 “How Sweet and Awesome” 

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