Ephesians 1a - RICH Blessings in Christ Jesus

How would you define the word "RICH"?  Having lots of money? Owning a lot of property? Driving a luxury car? Do you picture Bill Gates? Donald Trump? Warren Buffet? Or do you imagine something dark and smooth and chocolately?  (Thanks, Marcha!)  Webster's Dictionary defines it as having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means or funds; wealthy; abounding; of great value or worth.  Strong's Concordance includes full, abundant, plentiful.

By cultural standards, being rich means having the finer things found in the world; but by God's standards, being rich means sharing the blessings found in Christ Jesus. As Paul greeted the church in verses 3-14, he unpacked a veritable treasure chest of infinite and eternal blessings that he wanted those faithful saints to remember:  In Christ, we are

• chosen (elected, v4)
• predestined (v5)
• adopted (v5)
• graced (v6)
• redeemed (v7)
• forgiven (v7)
• graced some more! (v7)
• knowledgeable (v9)
• for the praise of His glory (v12)
• included (v13)
• marked (v13)
• sealed (v13)
• given a deposit (v14)
• given an inheritance (v14)

In those verses Paul mentions all three persons of the Godhead: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Although Three in One, Each is distinct and Each plays a part in our salvation.  The oversimplified bottom line is: God chooses us, Jesus redeems us, and the Holy Spirit seals us!

(One of my commentaries described the Holy Spirit as God's engagement ring to the bride of Christ - a promise of the wedding to come. What a great metaphor - it makes me long for the wedding supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19!)

As believers in the age of grace, it's amazing to ponder the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives: 

• indwells us (John 14:17)
• comforts us in our grief (2 Cor 1:4) 
• convicts us of our sin (John 16:8)
• encourages us in our struggles (John 14:26) 
• rejoices with us in our victories (Zeph 3:17)
• speaks to us through God's Word (1 Cor 2:13)
• directs our steps (Is 30:21)
• transforms our minds (2 Cor 3:18)
• reveals God's truths (John 16:13)
• gives us peace to guard our hearts (Phil 4:7)
• equips us to serve (1 Cor 12:7) 
• speaks through us to encourage others (Eph 5:19)
• marks us as believers (Eph 1:13)
• seals us to secure our salvation (Eph 4:30)

And that's just scratching the surface! One day in Heaven we'll look back over the course of our lives and see everything He did.  We'll see that He moved in ways we never knew and blessed in ways we couldn't have imagined. 

How then shall we live? 

With humble hearts - our blessings aren't because of anything we've done to deserve them, they are because of the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus. With forgiving hearts - Christ forgave us, so then we must forgive others. With grateful hearts - our blessings have been freely given, so we should freely give and serve so we can be a blessing to others. 

As we continue our study of Ephesians, we'll see several words repeated throughout the letter: grace, power, mystery, riches, faith, body/church, and inheritance. We'll also see a phrase repeated, and it's found ten times in verses 3-14 alone: in Christ Jesus.

No amount of money, real estate or things will ever truly satisfy us. No millionaire lifestyle will fully secure us. A delicious dessert may sate our appetites for a time, but the infinite, eternal and rich blessings that our souls desperately long for can only be found in Christ Jesus.