Key Truth: God is worthy to be blessed because He has blessed us in Christ to serve His redemptive missional purpose in the world with our inheritance sealed in the Holy Spirit.  

Introduction:

What gives you the most confidence to take a risk of some kind?

Blessed be the God and Father Who Predestines for His Missional Purpose:

Ephesians 1:11-12

“God is honored in the presence of human beings and angelic powers when men and women, redeemed from sin, live in accordance with his will and display the family likeness which stamps them as his children.”

F.F. Bruce, The Epistles of Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians

What are some ways in which you are living to the praise of God’s glory for the life of the  world?
How are you living out God’s redemptive missional purpose for which He chose you?

Blessed be the God and Father Who Seals Our Salvation with the Holy Spirit:

Ephesians 1:13-14

“The Holy Spirit, in his indwelling presence, his influences and fruits, is the sum of all grace, holiness, comfort, and joy, or, in one word, of all the spiritual good Christ purchased for (humanity) in this world: and is also the sum of all perfection, glory, and eternal joy that he purchased for them in another world. The Holy Spirit is the subject matter of the promises, both of the eternal covenant of redemption, and also of the covenant of grace.”

Jonathan Edwards, A Call to United, Extraordinary Prayer…(‘An humble attempt…’)

How is your life affected by knowing that your salvation and inheritance in Christ as a child of God has been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit?
What risks does this afford you to take for the glory of God?

Application:

Ephesians 1:11-14 teaches us that God is worthy to be blessed because He has blessed us in Christ:
- to serve His redemptive missional purpose in the world to the praise of His glory
- with our salvation and inheritance in Christ sealed with the promised Holy Spirit

“The theocentric character of this passage, its Christological focus, particularly God’s intention to bring all things together in Christ, its emphasis on divine grace, and God’s calling of a people to himself are all key issues for the letter as a whole. The eulogy of vv. 3-14 has provided the keynote of the epistle, opened up many of its main ideas that recur in the body of the letter, set the style and tone, and provided an introduction for Paul’s didactic and exhortatory goals.”

Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians

Benediction:

Ephesians 3:20-21