Spiritual Blessings in High Places
Eph 1:1-14

6-18-07

When we get saved we are put into Jesus Christ (Eph 1:1).  Since he is seated at the right hand of God and since we are in him, then we are seated in heavenly places with him (Eph 2:6).  As a result, we have received a number of spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3).  These spiritual blessings include the following:

We are blameless before him (v. 4) – Right now we are already justified by him (Rom 5:9).  However, we still live in a body of sin.  When we actually stand before God, we will be totally holy and blameless in our sprit, soul and body (1 Thes 5:23).  That’s because we will have a glorified body (Phil 3:21).  So, there’s more to come.  This is the predestination of everyone in Christ.

We are adopted by him (v. 5) – The good pleasure of God’s will is that all the souls in Christ should be adopted into God’s family.  By being in Christ as a result of salvation, we are predestined to this adoption (Rom 8:14-16).  We are sons now (1 Jn 3:2) but we will enjoy even greater benefits of this adoption in eternity, when we receive bodies that look just like Jesus Christ. 

We are accepted by him (v. 6) – This is a great blessing considering that most people have the desire to be accepted.  No matter the past, once you are in Christ you are accepted in the beloved.

We are redeemed by him (v. 7) – All of the sins of our lives are forgiven.  God cannot see them through the blood of Jesus Christ (Is 1:18) nor can he remember them (Heb 10:17) and there is no need to offer him anything since the blood of Christ has already been offered to pay for them (Heb 10:18).

We are given wisdom by him (vs. 8-9) – In Christ, Jesus becomes our wisdom (1 Cor 1:30).  Thus we have the wisdom to live our new life in Christ in accordance with God’s will (Rom 12:1-2) and for his pleasure.

We are one with him (v. 10) – Again, though we are one with Christ now, we are separated from being fully in his presence by this body of sin (2 Cor 5:8, 4:7).  After the Lord returns, we will be one with him in his presence forevermore (Jn 17:22-24).

We have an inheritance with him (v. 11-12) – In Christ, we are predestined by God to receive an inheritance with Jesus Christ as joint-heirs with him (Rom 8:17).  We will receive this inheritance following the Judgment seat of Christ and enjoy it with Jesus when he reigns over the earth in the millennium.  This inheritance is ours conditionally (Eph 5:5; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Rom 8:17; 2 Tim 2:12; 2 Jn 8; Lk 19:12-27; 1 Cor 3:11-15; 2 Cor 5:10).

We are sealed by him (v. 13-14) – These verses state clearly that these spiritual blessings and the predestination to benefit by them are conditioned upon being in Christ.  They also show the progression on salvation.  First, a sinner hears the word of truth, the gospel.  Second, he trusts in Christ [at which time he is put in Christ].  Third, he is sealed by the Holy Spirit (this guarantees that he is eternally secure, Eph 4:30).  Fourth, he is finally fully redeemed when Christ returns (Rom 8:22-23).  The Spirit is the earnest [like a down payment] of our inheritance which we will receive later.

All of these blessings are to the praise of God’s glory (vs. 12, 14) since they come from him and are freely given to us in Christ Jesus.

Back to the Sunday School Archive Page

Copyright © 2001-2005 Bible Believers Baptist Church
These articles cannot be stored on other Internet sites or sold or placed by themselves or with other material in any electronic format for sale, but may be distributed for free by e-mail or by print. They must be left intact and nothing removed or changed.