Text: Ephesians 1:3-14
Focus: The Holy Spirit
Function: Experience the Holy Spirit
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
Good morning and Happy New Year to the beloved Children of God!
On the first of the year, I like to remind people to have hope and faith in what God has in store for them in the next year. It is a time for us to pause and consider where we are going.
Personally, I hope this year to grow in my own understanding of the presence of the Spirit of God in my life. I pray the same thing for the Painter Creek Church and the people who seek God together with me in this place.
It is by the power of the Spirit that we are lead to follow Christ in this world. And this passage is ripe with the theology of what has happened to us since we are people who have placed our trust in the Christ Spirit that indwells us.
The text implies that God has destined the entire world to receive God’s love, mercy and grace and I believe that in the end we will all find God’s salvation since Jesus died for the sins of the world entire.
We are the Church, the body of Christ in the world. It is important to remember that the word that we translate as Church literally means “the gathering.” The Church is the gathering of believers and Jesus said when even if just two or three gather, the Spirit of God is present with them in that community. It appears to me that by gathering, we incite the beloved community that Jesus gave his life to foster.
I work hard a making sure everyone is a part of this community because when we gather, we stir up the Holy Spirit.
Now let me take us back to verse 13 from our text: 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;
He gives us the course of the salvation God has for us. It starts with hearing “the good news of salvation” that God is here to restore the world to the right and bring justice. And by hearing that word, through the Holy Spirit, we trusted in those words and are now allowing the Spirit of God to lead us.
So, the connection to what it means to be in the church is evident by the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the people who identify themselves as members of the gathering of believers, the Church.
Remember also that believers are those trust Jesus and his teachings to lead their lives. To believe literally means to trust.
It is like in marriage. We trust that from then on the person we are now bonded to will live with our best interests at their own heart and commit themselves to care for us. We become partners who value each other.
With God, like marriage, it is a bond of love that God makes with us when we trust in Jesus and his way of living. And that bond of love is given to us by God, simply because we are resting in Their love for us. We partner with God and live by Their values.
Now the the thrust of the passage speaks of the title of the sermon and how we are sealed by God’s Spirit for restoration.
Look at verse 4 ...he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
Brother Paul speaks of the majesty of God and God’s ability to know every single person. God has the ability to keep account of all the good that God helps us do through the power of the Spirit. And, God has forgiven all the mistakes we have made.
Paul’s understanding that God knew us before God created the world implies that God exists in the realm of the fourth dimension: outside of time itself. I think that is kind of cool, but that is not why this verse is wonderful.
Through the power of love, God has made us to be holy and blameless. By holy, it means to be a separate people. That is why our early fathers and mothers in the faith dressed in plain clothes because they believed that by their dress they could remind themselves that they live by Jesus’ value system instead of the world’s value system of greed and selfishness.
Holiness means that we are different and gives us the power to live by the leading of the Holy Spirit instead of the revenge and greed orientated systems of this world.
Be Holy, for God is holy is a command from scripture for us to follow. Because it is commanded it is expected and okay for us to be different.
The salient word in verse 4 is the love.
In God, we have the power to love and forgive. And it is our love for others that makes us separate: holy. At the same time, it is God’s love for us that makes us blameless. We are Holy and Blameless in love.
So, forgive, because God forgave you. We forgive even when we are wronged and have no recourse. Forgiveness sets us free from the pain inflicted by someone else upon us. And it works even if they haven’t changed their ways. When we forgive others, the slate between us and God is cleared. Walking in forgiveness is part of that holiness and love.
The Spirit of God seals us in a miraculous way.
In my personal life, I have seen just a few miracles. They remind me to rest in God’s love and to not fear the circumstances.
However, I have seen many miracles in my role as pastor. And they are all the same. It is the miracle of being born from above, according to John 3, and it happens when one places trust in Jesus. One of the greatest joys in my pastoral ministry is to watch the supernatural joy flood into someone who has been forgiven.
We respond to God’s love with love and that moves the Spirit in us. Be loving.
