THAT'S A LONG SENTENCE!

 SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

Ephesians 1:3-14

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

 

Today as we continue some reflections on the Book of Ephesians, I invite to remember that there are blessings available to us in the realm that Paul calls the heavenlies. Paul is not referring to heaven in these words. Rather, in the “heavenly realms” is referring to the unseen realities of our life now in Jesus. They are blessings that we experience now in our “inner life” by faith.

Paul was so amazed at the sheer magnitude of these blessings from God that he kept on writing and writing and did not stop until he reached the end of verse 14, a total of 202 words! That makes it the longest sentence in the Bible. Modern translators have added punctuation to this lengthy sentence. And if we really take time to consider what these blessings are, we will be absolutely amazed as well. They will make us realize what an immense privilege we have as God’s people.

The spiritual blessings that Paul wrote about in these 12 verses include being chosen before the foundation of the world (v.4), predestined in love as adopted children (v.5), accepted in Christ (v.6), redeemed and all our sins forgiven (v.7), introduced to the Mystery of God’s will (vv.8-10), receiving an inheritance (v.11) and being sealed with the Holy Spirit (vv.13,14). And this list is not exhaustive. We can add to these many other significant blessings that Paul mentions in other parts of his letter to the Ephesians: They are blessings of hope (1:18), power (1:19), peace (2:14), boldness of access to God (3:12), strength (3:16), spiritual gifts for service (4:7), and the whole armour of God (6:11).

And here is the best part: They are all ours – every one of them! What a great treasure of spiritual blessings we have! This thought is so well-expressed in the words of a familiar hymn, “Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!”

Ephesians 1 reminds us that all of this comes to us in one great package in Christ. If you are in Christ, there is nothing to keep you from having all of them, every moment of every day. No wonder the Apostle Paul calls us to “Praise … the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”