Ephesians 1:1-14

The opening section of Ephesians describes the blessings God gives His people. These opening verses remind us of the source from which God’s blessings flow. Ephesians 1:3 declares that we are blessed by God, and the verses that follow show how those blessings become ours.

When you think of these blessings, you need to remember a little boy’s description of an elevator: “I step into this little room and the upstairs comes down.” He had the right idea about the direction from which God’s blessings flow to us.

• He has chosen us
  • When – before the foundation of the world
  • Why – so we can be holy and blameless
    • God wants something more for us than we are capable of achieving ourselves
  • What His choice accomplishes
    • It eliminates boasting
    • Gives us the assurance of salvation
    • Leads to holy living

Some say that since God has chosen us, we can live however we please. This reveals a complete misunderstanding of how God works in our lives. What He has done for us should produce in us the desire to be the very best we can be both in manner of life and service.

• He has redeemed us
  • The meaning of redemption
    • To buy in the marketplace like a slave
      • Still a slave
    • It can mean “the ransomed price”
      • Being delivered by the payment of a price – the sacrificial system
    • Buying out of the marketplace – never have to return
    • To buy for the purpose of setting free
  • The means of redemption
    • Through His blood
    • By His grace

This Scripture shows that, by His own volition, God chose to bring blessing to us. This blessing is not momentary, but eternal.