Chosen

Introduction

A. War has been a part of the human experience almost from the beginning. Some in this audience are veterans of wars. Some have glorified war; some have denounced it; some have reveled in the memories; some are permanently scarred because of what they remember. For those who served as soldiers, you are told time and again to carry out your mission; to remember the purpose for the war; not to lose sight of the victory. Thousands upon thousands have given their lives in pursuit of geopolitical goals and to progress the cause of freedom. Every person in this room probably has some connection to war either through personal experience or through the experience of a loved one.

B. What we may not recognize is that every person is part of a spiritual war. The war between good and evil has been going on since the beginning. This war is not with flesh and blood. It is a war fought within the heart. Actions demonstrate which side of the war is winning. While wars may be fought in which individuals try to defeat a visible enemy, the basis of war is often more theoretical than physical. Such is the case in our spiritual war. It is a theological war — good vs. evil. But the individual battles comprising the war often are expressed against human beings. Day to day living dealing with the challenges of community and how to get along, expressions of “dark” living such as lying, cursing, telling coarse jokes and sexual immorality, husbands and wives learning about marriage, parents and children learning about obedience, employers and employees learning about mutual care — all of these are the day to day battles of the war between good and evil. And while we may look into the face of a person and think this is our enemy; this is our foe; the reality is that the real war is not seen. It is the war of the heart.

C. Paul wrote about such a war in the letter to the Ephesians. The war image becomes very clear at the end of the writing when Paul tells his readers to put on the full armor of God as you battle against the forces of this dark world. War imagery. The people that Paul wrote to were at war. They lived at a time when the war between good and evil, darkness and light, God and the evil one was being fought in the political reality of Christians and Rome.

D. The city of Ephesus was known for its pagan temple to Artemis or Diana. That very same temple had been dedicated to Caesar Augustus meaning that the temple also was used as a place to worship the emperor. Augustus, who died almost 50 years before this letter was written, was viewed as the giver of unity to Rome; he brought order to a chaotic world; time was measured by Augustus’ birth; he was called “savior” and “god.” Paul offers a different view — Jesus who is the Christ brings unity; he is the Savior and he is God. All things in heaven and earth are to be brought together under the Lordship of Jesus. The war is clear for Paul — good vs. evil; light vs. darkness; Jesus vs. Rome. Paul writes to remind his readers that they belong to good, light, Jesus. Our study over the next few weeks will remind us of the same.

Blessings

A. There are several ways to divide this text. Paul wrote it as one long sentence. It is 202 words of blessing with no punctuation. It is filled with dependent clauses and praise. One writer says there are 20 different ways to explain the structure of this section. Another writer says that there are 43. If we think about the culture of Paul’s day and its emphasis on emperor worship, and the tension that must have existed for those early Christians to follow God while living in an openly hostile environment, then it is possible for us to understand what Paul is doing with this text.

B. From the beginning, Paul calls on his readers to focus outside of this world. God’s blessings are in the heavenly realm. God’s blessings are not confined to this world. These blessings find their fullest expression outside of this world. Notice verse 3. Praise is given to God the Father who is worked through Jesus who is Lord and Christ and who gives every “spiritual blessing” in Christ. The word “spiritual” denotes the presence of the Holy Spirit who is mentioned in the latter part of the section. God, Jesus, the Spirit are the focus.

C. Look at the blessings that Paul mentions

1. V. 4 — God chose us before time. God thought about you and me before creation. He envisioned his children before he created time.

2. V. 5 — God adopted us. When the time came for us to enter this world, God made us one of his children. He gave us a place to call home. And he did this with pleasure. No coercion. No hesitation.

3. V. 7 — Jesus redeemed us. Bought with a price. Our souls have been bought by the blood of Jesus.

4. V. 7 — Forgiveness. Our sins are gone. Wiped away. Forgotten. No longer held against us. All done by God's lavish grace. It is grace upon grace. It is God working for us because God never just gives, he gives abundantly.

5. V. 9 — He revealed one of the mysteries of this life — to have everything come under the Lordship of Jesus. Notice it is because God finds pleasure in revealing this. There are things that remain hidden with God but not his desire for us to be with him. He wants us.

6. V. 13 — Included in Christ when we responded to the gospel.

7. V. 13 — Given the Holy Spirit as a seal and deposit. The Spirit serves a two-fold purpose. He is a seal. The seal was a sign of authenticity. His presence demonstrates that our relationship is authentic. He is our deposit. The down payment that says more is coming.

8. The world cannot give us any of these things. In the spiritual war between good and evil, evil has nothing to offer us that will bless us.

Response

A. Look at the responses that comes as a result of these blessings.

1. V. 4 — holy and blameless. God chose us so that we could be holy. Set apart. He chose us so that our lives would be a demonstration of God's presence. But not just as a demonstration to others but to God himself. He watches with great interest as his children live in this world. He wants to see our intent in this world.

2. V. 12 — Praise. God's intent was that his people would praise him. Paul's world, the pagan worshiper praised the emperor. He would praise that which took away from God. But not God's children; we do not praise that which is counter to God. We uphold him and his ways.

B. Don’t leave verse 12 too quickly. Look at the phrase “the first to hope in Christ.” This is a difficult translation. The word translated “first to hope” is found only here in all of the NT and rarely in outside sources. It literally means “to hope before.” It carries the idea to “hope before” in a thing or person before the event confirms it. In other words, you trust in something before you see it. You expect something to happen before it happens and then when it does occur it is a fulfillment of your expectation.

C. Here’s the point. Go back to verse 10. God’s intent is to bring all thing in heaven and on earth under the Lordship of Jesus. It hasn’t happened yet. God says it will. We “hope before” that it will happen. We anticipate it happening. We expect it to happen. We know it is a matter of time before it happens. But in the meantime, we are at war. Evil says we only wish for something that will never happen. Evil says that there is more that this world has to offer than the empty unseen promise of God. And we hear the world’s voice very well. Rome told its citizens that god had already come — he was the great uniter; he was the giver of order over the political chaos; he was the savior. And the pressure was on.

D. There was order under Rome. There was unity albeit forced. And in a cosmopolitan city like Ephesus there was great prosperity. And there was pressure to give in. Pressure to accept. Pressure to join the world. But Paul calls us to praise. Praise the God who calls. Praise the God who forgives, redeems, and gives us a place to call home. Praise the God who through his authentic presence that there is more to come. We fight under the banner that Jesus is Lord. Paul says we have been called to lead lives that demonstrates that we clearly are under the Lordship of Jesus. What does your life demonstrate? Invitation.

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