Blessed in the Heavenly Realms Eph. 1:3-14; Amos 7:7-15; Mark 6:14-29 

 

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

We’re going to talk about being Chosen and Blessed in the Heavenly Realms, based on today’s Epistle.

 

When I was in seminary, one of my favorite classes was an in-depth study of the book of Ephesians.

 

Ephesians is one of my favorite books in Scripture. It’s just so deep, and so rich in meaning. It challenges the mind… and it deepens our understanding and appreciation of the Gospel.

 

In verses 1 and 2 Paul starts with a brief introduction and greeting: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, by His choosing…

 

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  

What better way to start than with a blessing of grace and peace.

 

And what better way to end.

 

We typically end our services, our liturgy, with the blessing that we call the Benediction, which literally means to speak a good word, or blessing.

 

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace. 

 

I can’t think of a better word to end the service and leave God’s house with, than with this word of blessing! 

Wherever we go from here, His blessing goes with us. And so, let us bless God and speak well of Him, wherever we are. 

 

Verse 3 in our text, is a blessing from us to God, and from God to us.

 

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that’s us blessing or praising God, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (That’s His blessing to us.) 

 

We bless Him because He blesses us. 

 

A blessing is a wonderful thing. Rarely does anyone not want to be blessed, and this verse is an especially wonderful blessing.

 

In the heavenly places, the highest places, are the highest blessings, and they’re given to us eternally in Christ.

 

Even when we’re still living on earth, being blessed here in so many ways, we’re also being blessed in Heaven, because of what’s being done there for us, and what waits there for us.

 

In Baptism, we’re promised an eternal inheritance which is kept holy and perfect in Heaven for us.

 

1 Peter 1:3-4 says, 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again (baptized into) a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you… 

 

… which keeps it holy, perfect and glorious for us, because in Heaven, nothing fades or corrupts.    

 

It’s a blessing to know the joys that wait for us there! 

 

In our Epistle Paul says, 11 In him (Christ) we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 

 

There’s a lot of deep theology in those words. 

 

Deep theology might seem a bit intimidating or unnecessary, but keep this in mind: deep theology means wonderful blessings. The deeper it is, the more we’re blessed.

 

It’s so deep because it’s so wonderful, so incredible, so miraculous and amazing… and it’s all by grace, which makes it all so amazing.

 

This verse teaches us that our heavenly inheritance and blessings are a result of our divine election, our predestination, us having been chosen by God.

 

This goes with grace, it’s a part of being saved by grace. 

 

Our salvation is all God’s doing, a gift, or grace. And the first thing God did for our salvation was to choose us. 

 

In John 15:16, Jesus tells us: You didn’t choose me; I chose you.

 

God knew us and saw us in eternity, and He chose us, selected us, elected us, and predestined us.

 

Paul says in verses 4 through 6: 4 even as he (God) chose us in him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him, entirely forgiven and saved. 

 

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved (in Jesus). 

 

The Biblical doctrine of predestination, is the capstone, if you will, which  crowns the Biblical teaching of salvation by grace...

 

…which is why Paul says in verse 6 that our being chosen or predestined, is 6 to the praise of his glorious grace. 

 

We’re chosen by His grace, His grace alone, and not by anything we’ve done to try to earn it, or to convince God to choose us. 

 

A couple weeks ago was the NBA draft. Players and agents work hard to try to convince a team to choose them.

 

Likewise in life, we might do things to try to convince or impress others.

 

Our being chosen by God has nothing to do with our earning it, or our convincing God that we’re worthy of it.

 

Grace and salvation are too great to be earned by us sinners. We’re chosen for His salvation only by God’s mercy.

 

We were predestined for salvation, chosen by God to belong to Him and have His salvation even before we were born, before we existed, before any created thing existed, before the foundation of the world, Paul says.

 

Before the creation of the Universe, when the only thing that existed was God, He predestined us for life in His family on earth, His Church, and for eternal life in His family in Heaven.

 

And that why it’s called pre-destination; before we or anything in creation  existed, God chose us, so that our destiny would be salvation in Christ.

  

God has left nothing to chance regarding our salvation, even going so far as to choose us before Creation, in eternity, to be His own and have His grace and salvation.

 

You can’t get more blessed, more eternally blessed, than that!

 

It’s another thing that God has done for you that proves how dearly He loves you, His faithful child.  

 

Rightly understood, this promise of our predestination in Christ is a most comforting and assuring truth… and empowering and motivating in our walk with God.

 

The wrong response to this, however, would be to think: 

 

I’m destined to be saved therefore there’s nothing I can do to lose salvation, so I’ll live my life in a greedy, immoral, worldly, godless, unholy, unloving, selfish, faithless way.

 

That kind of thinking is the exact opposite of what it means to be God’s eternally chosen child, destined for an eternity of holy, heavenly blessings. 

 

To be predestined and chosen for salvation in Christ, means that you have been chosen to believe in Him, and to be like Him…

 

… and to be like the Holy Spirit, who resides in you, with the power to love, trust, and honor God… and to love, respect, and serve others.   

 

Knowing that we, God’s faithful children, were chosen in eternity, to be blessed in the highest places with the highest gifts…

 

… blessed with grace on earth in the Church, and blessed with glory in highest heaven… 

 

… knowing this, let us be more determined than ever, to live a life that blesses God, that serves, honors, praises and glorifies Him, that speaks well of Him, and reflects well on Him.

 

Our God blesses us from Heaven, and from eternity. 

May we faithfully and joyfully bless Him on earth, until we receive our Heavenly inheritance, and bless and praise Him in glory everlasting, and life without end.

 

And finally, may He bless us with His peace, which passes understanding, and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, whom we bless and praise, today and forever. Amen.