Chosen by God

The doxology of Ephesians 1:3 exalts our Triune God, and the following 11 verses are some of the most powerful theology on the triune God found anywhere in the New Testament. Verse three is the opening of our spiritual treasure chest, and it’s divided into three compartments: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we consider verses 4-6 we have revealed there for us the treasure we have from our heavenly Father. Paul describes this glorious spiritual wealth bestowed on us by the Father and it is indeed awe inspiring and praiseworthy. We are chosen!

When we come to verse 3, it is like opening a glorious treasure chest made by God. As we take our first glimpse of its contents as it is opened to us, we cry “God be Praised” or as Paul declared “Blessed be God.” As we marvel at the wonder, we note that the chest has three compartments. This third verse cries Triune God or Trinity immediately, and the following 11 verses are some of the most powerful theology of the triune God found anywhere in the New Testament. As we go forward through these 11 verses, we will gain a new appreciation of how loved by God we are and how intentional God was in reaching into our lives with His amazing grace. But as we consider this third verse, the door to the treasures, we consider two important lessons before unpacking the rest of the 12 verses.

When we consider the letter to the Ephesians, we note that it reaches into our hearts with three characteristics: First, it is intercession. Paul wins his readers hearts by bringing them into his prayers. Second, it is affirmation. Ephesians is neither apologetic nor corrective. It instead affirms bold truths about God and salvation by grace. Third, it is evangelism, both the invitation to grace, and the task of reaching the world with the gospel. To better understand the letter, we want to consider its author, its recipients and an overview of its message.

If Paul could write a letter that didn’t involve a spiritual warrior tone, a letter with no heresies to denounce, no problems to solve, no sin to confront and no false teachers to expose, if it could be just be a letter from his heart declaring what he believed to be the most important subject in the world, for Paul, Ephesians is that letter. In it he expounds God’s eternal purpose and grace, and shares God’s exalted goals for the church.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called . . .   

Child born - humanity; Son given - deity, divinely sent;  Government on his shoulder - right to rule; His name shall be called: - the type of character that He will possess. God gives five names in Isaiah’s prophecy that teach us Who the Promised Son Is.

It is always a blessing to consider all of the things that the Lord has done for us as a church.  We are not a large congregation, but we are a group of faithful saints whom the Lord has saved to be used for His glory. As we look to this new year of ministry as a congregation, we want to consider the admonition of Psalm 105. In this Psalm we are reminded of three important principles when participating in the Lord’s work: