Imagine a person who is living in poverty. They can’t afford to get much heat in the winter, or keep the lights on at night. They barely have enough to eat, frequently going hungry, and their clothes are old and thread-bare. Yet they have a monthly benefactor, who provides them with way more than enough money every month. They just have to ask him for it. It is theirs for the asking. However, this person either does not know that they have this benefactor who consistently gives them money, despite his frequently making it known. Perhaps they don’t believe it is really there. Or perhaps they don’t believe that they deserve it, so they don’t touch that money. We might think that person is sadly foolish, especially when they have so much available to them to help them. However, that is the case, spiritually, for so many Christians. In our Scripture today from Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, he lets believers know that we have spiritual blessings available to us.
Paul opens this passage by giving a blessing to the Lord, a thanks to Him for all the blessings He has bestowed upon His children (vs. 3). As he continues, Paul used the past tense of the word bless - “has blessed”. God has already given believers total blessings. He has secured them in heaven where none can be stolen, damaged, or kept back. They come to us from His heavenly dwelling. These are heavenly blessings, and are eternal. There are earthly blessings, material blessings, home, clothes, job, etc. However, these are all temporary. We may have them one day, and lose them the next. The spiritual blessings that the Lord has given to us are eternal. No one can steal them from us. They won’t wear away or get lost.
These spiritual blessings are not for just anyone. God’s abundant blessings belong only to believers, who are His children by faith in Jesus Christ. He chose, before the foundation of the world, for those who put their faith and trust in His Son, to be His adopted children. We are now brothers and sisters of Jesus, and what He has is also ours - righteousness, resources, privileges, positions, and power (Romans 8:16-17). These blessings, and God’s adopting us as His Blood-bought children, the mystery of salvation, originated in the timeless mind of God long before we even existed (vs. 4).
Human parents cannot give their adopted children any of their features or attributes. They do not inherit their looks, their hair color, eye color, or any other physical characteristics. However, when we were saved and adopted into God’s family, He began to conform us into the image of His divine Son, Jesus Christ.
Paul prayed that the Ephesians and that we would have godly knowledge and insight to grasp the greatness of the hope and the inheritance that is ours in Christ Jesus. The hope we have is not a vague feeling that the future will be positive. It is a complete assurance of certain victory through God. Our inheritance is the same as that of our Savior. Everything He has is ours as well.
We are not saved because we deserve it, but because God is gracious, and freely gives salvation to those who come to Him through Jesus. We cannot take any credit for our salvation, nor for the blessings He then bestows. We need to come to Him for salvation, and then to accept all of His blessings. Don’t ignore them, nor be ignorant of their existence, just like the person mentioned at the start. When we do come to Jesus, though, we are special, accepted, and wanted by God. We are accepted in the Beloved (vs. 6). We are not refused, rejected, or turned away. We are accepted!
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