Every Spiritual Blessing: Part 2-1

Light increase the teaching ministry of Rich Pastor Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Dark backdrop. Mandy's brokenness, God's great love shines vividly bright in this message.

Titled every spiritual blessing part two. Pastor Rich talks about the history of Christ's redemptive work and all that we have gained through his lavish grace.

Now is the time that you open your Scriptures for the exposition of the text of the word of God. We are in Ephesians chapter 1, and right now we are in the paragraph of verses three through 14. The title of this series report series is every spiritual blessing in the day is part two. Every spiritual blessing the beginning of it here is in verses three through six we considered last time and that is the origin of God's redemptive purpose is over the origin of God's purpose for creation for mankind.

Particularly, it all begins in the mind of God the mind of an infinite supreme transcendent being.

He is the source of it all and that gives us the big picture and then it goes from the mind of the supreme being, then to history, time and space. That's where you and I live. That's where we operate in the verses were going to consider today versus 7 to 9 are what God has accomplished in history and it is a present reality for us. You and me.

For those of us who are in Christ and the next iMovie versus 10, 14, and it is the glory our destiny, our end that God has for us now. All of this. If you remember verses three through 14 is one of the apostle Paul's specialties and by that I mean a colossal run-on sentence is just a profusion, a gushing forth of the extravagance of God's goodness of his grace and what he does in this as he begins verse three Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and went to see more of that profusion yet again today. It is like we just four of us just came back from the basics conference up in Ohio and it's just it's such an enriching experience with excellent deep exposition of the word of God 1300 then singing at the top of their lungs. Songs like the Lord is my salvation in Christ alone.

Behold our God who just can't get enough of that. You come away just so full and just the profusion of all of that. I didn't and what we have here before us, particularly three versus today versus 79 of Ephesians 1.

This is the gospel.

This is the gospel good news is good news because there is bad news with a touch on that in just a minute, but this is the good news and I want you to know that end, and the word of God. We are bound by the word of God. So this is to listen, this is true for all people for all time. I want you to know that. So let's approach it humbly and expectantly today as we open the word of God and he begins in verse seven with two words that express his key theme through this entire book, particularly the first three chapters, two words in him him refers to Jesus Christ the beloved, the son of his love Messiah, the second person of the Trinity. Very God of very men in the him Christ we who are in the him we are in our elements just as a fish is in the water with fish is in water, it provides, but when it goes for that hook the worm on the hook is taken out of the water and it becomes food, but we are in Christ, just as the fish is in water. It arrives so we in Christ, then can thrive.

He who has the son has life and we are not only in our elements, but he is our identity because his history has become ours. We are the people of God is not just speaking of this to each one of us in an individualistic sense, although that is true but he is speaking of the church as a unity.

The people of God, his own special people, is his family that, as was pointed out in verses 3 to 6. His family that has been known to him from eternity before time all in the mind of God and so where the text takes us today is from the mind of the grand artist.

He's got the full picture.

There and then he gets his paintbrush dips it in the paint and he starts drawing on the canvas of history. That's where you and I are it says in him we have redemption when amazing.

Word we have redemption. I want you to know it does not say we had or we will have what is it say we have that's now that's present is a present possession. We have redemption in this word redemption is word absolute process.

It means release to be set free.

Now that implies that if that's something you held us captive.

We were in bondage. What is that to know that we need all of God's word all of his revelation, the full counsel of the Lord, we go back to Genesis chapter 3 and God created man, he created them male and female, which is a good thing to emphasize on Mother's Day because ladies you have the capacity to reflect the character of God that we men don't. I think Godfrey but aren't you glad that God made us male and female. It is a part of his grace and his goodness. But God made them male and female and is that Adam and Eve were walking with God here. This is the background the back story to it all of why we need redemption in Christ. It is been revealed, and it has been recorded in Adam and Eve were designed to walk with God to commune with him to enjoy him.

They did for a time but then the focus got distracted and they saw something glitter and they were drawn away from the one who was their highest pleasure and benefit in what glittered with the chains of passion and unrighteousness that would hold them bound alienated from God utterly unable to freedoms and the rest is the history of humanity, and we are is the Scripture say held under the power of sin and the penalty of sin. We are slaves of sin.

We are under the power of death and that death is the necessary judgment of a holy God and what becomes true is that we are held hostage by our own rebellion. That's what holds us, but here's the truth of this in him we have redemption.

What is that mean in Christ. Those chains fall off those chains that hold us. We are released from the powerful hold of sin and the penalty of God's wrath is a present possession that we have that we have been released from the power of sin and the penalty of it as well. It is a present possession. Christians do you know that.

Remember that this letter is written to Christians. If you are here today and you are not in Christ. This is not true.

It can be if you surrender yourself in faith. Jesus Christ. But if you are not in Christ, you are bound by those chains of sin, you are enslaved to it. Remember reading about how they trained elephants for the circus huge animals they could do a lot of damage if they lose control and they would take elephants when they were very young and they would have this band around one lakh of the elephant and it was chained to something that was immovable and as the elephant would grow up continue to have that band around his leg, but then they would be able to control the elephant because as long as it felt that band around his leg and knew it couldn't move. Even if the chain was attached anything Christians me tell you something in Christ that chains been loosed. You are not bound to sin, and the only reason why you feel like you might be bound to is because you're hanging onto it, you're not bound to act in Christ.

Those chains fall off. How does that happen.

What becomes pot.

How does this become possible.

One little phrase three words through his blood through his blood. This word redemption is a word that means release to be set free through his blood, it set free affected by payment in the book tale of two cities, Charles Dickens portrays Sydney Carton. He climbs the guillotine in Paris to sacrifice his own life, having disguised himself as the man everyone thinks they're executing Charles Darnay but he does this so that Darnay can go free, and Dickens portrays him as as he's climbing the steps to the guillotine. He is thinking in his mind.

This is a far far better thing that I do in a far far better rest that I go to when it says when the Scripture say through his blood. This speaks of a transaction is the transaction of the cross.

The cross is the standard Christian symbol. But remember this cross was a brutal form of Roman execution and it was designed for maximum shame and maximum pain. Jesus was nailed to a cross and whatever anyone would read the phrase like through his blood, the idea that blood is shed it's the understanding of sacrifice of the forfeiture of life even listening to the lighting grace the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem visit our church website to see upcoming events or to listen to my messages at GBC. Winston.com to discover how to live by grace to you in with us on weekdays at 10 AM