Ephesians 1:3,4  “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.  NKJV

According to some biblical scholars the book of Ephesians is the Grand Canyon of scripture and provides an immeasurable wealth of the divine greatness and the exceeding riches of God’s grace, wisdom and glory.  As true believers and followers in Christ it assures us of His precious gift of salvation and the faithful promises of everlasting life.

The Apostle Paul speaks to the heart and soul of those who have believed in the truth of the gospel and are faithful in Christ Jesus our Savior.  The promises and the power of God’s word is just astounding and fills one’s heart with indescribable joy and peace. 

Permit me to paraphrase and list these spiritual blessings as taken from Ephesians 1:4- 12   

God has chosen us – Has predestined us to adoption -  In Him we have redemption and the forgiveness of sin through the blood of Christ – In Him we have obtained an inheritance.  And all these spiritual blessings – according to the good pleasure of His will – to the praise of the glory of His grace - made us accepted in the Beloved - according to the riches of His grace – according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Then we continue on with His spiritual blessings in v13  “ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. NKJV   

With these spiritual blessings, In Him, was mentioned five times in these first thirteen verses of Ephesians 1 to stress that we have come into a relationship or a union with Christ Jesus Himself.  He has given us His Spirit so that we can live with Him and For Him as He works within us to become more like Him in our thoughts, attitudes and our behaviors.  We are alive with the Spirit to mold us and shape us into His will and to His ways of living.

When you sincerely believed in Jesus Christ, trusted in the truth of your salvation, and became a faithful follower of Christ, then you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.  The seal of God is the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit which is our guarantee of inheritance in the Kingdom of God.

For this reason Paul then prays in Ephesians 1:17-19  “ [I pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and the revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might.”  (emphasis mine) NKJV

Are you truly spending time in God’s word and developing a personal relationship with Him ?  Is the Holy Spirit deepening your knowledge and understanding of His great love for you.  Do you believe the Bible to be inerrant, infallible and is the absolute authority of truth ?  

Getting to know God through the power of His word is the single most important decision you can make in your life.  There is nothing in this world that can be compared to the exceeding greatness of His power and love working within us.  1John 4:4  “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

There are many so called Christians today that somehow believe that since they have been forgiven by the blood of Christ, they are free to live anyway they choose.  They may believe intellectually(superficially) but are far removed in the inner being of the heart.  Sadly, they don’t read the bible, spend little time praying, and attend church very little if at all.  

“ He saved us, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5-7) (emphasis mine)

For those of us who believe and have accepted and embraced our Lord and Savior, we understand that it is God and only God who gives us new spiritual life.  We play absolutely no part in this process, it just happens.  This action of God is called regeneration or to be born again and is best described by Jesus in John 1:13 and John 3:3-8. ( See also 1John 3:9 ; 1Peter 1:23 ; 2Corinthians 5:17 ; Ephesisans 4:24) Even in the old testament we learn and know about the Spirit of God as found in Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26,27; 37:14

Let us pause and take a moment to reflect, meditate and ponder these Spiritual  blessings as written by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:3  " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ."

Start today – Don’t delay and change your life - Let the words of God speak to you and be filled with a peace and joy beyond measure.  

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