Date: October 7, 2018 ()

Bible Text: Ephesians 1 |

Series:

I. I have been Redeemed
II. I have been Released
III. I have been Reconciled

If you have your Bibles, turn them to Ephesians chapter one, if you're not sure where that is, hopefully, you have someone near you. It's in the New Testament.  And a challenge to you as far as Bible, coming up through the month of October. We're going to be looking at the book of Ephesians. There's only about a hundred fifty five verses in the book of Ephesians.

So we're looking at a number of text through the month of October maybe a little bit November, but only a hundred fifty five verses, six chapters takes you about 20 minutes to read it and I would recommend reading it a few times through the month of October. I think it would help you as we are looking at the book of Ephesians.

There's a song in our hymn book. It's number 339 if you want to look at it, but there's an author that wrote a song is name was George Matheson. George Matheson lived from 1842 to 1906, according to the hymn book care, and what many people don't realize about George Matheson was at 15 years old, he was told that he was losing his eyesight and that probably, he would be blind, just in a number of years.

Matheson continued with his plans and he enrolled in the University of Glasgow. He lived in Scotland, and he graduated at 19 from Glasgow University. He then went on to pursue Graduate Studies and Theology for Christian Ministry.  And somewhere between 19 and a little few years after that, George Matheson became blind. And he was in theology school studying to be a pastor and became blind, his sister's helped him learn Greek and Hebrew and they helped him study.  One thing that really crushed George Matheson's during that time, he found a young lady and it was before that, it was before he became blind, officially blind.

He was going blind, but he had a young lady and they had become interested in each other. They got engaged so she was his fiancée, but when he became blind, officially blind, she said she could not live with that, and so she broke off the engagement and he never married and that really crushed him years later, he was pastoring in Scotland and his sister came to him announced her engagement. You rejoice with her, but in his mind he went back to a time when a young lady was interested in him and broke off that engagement and from that hurt, he wrote a song and I thought the song was interesting, a love that will not let me go.

I rest my weary soul in thee. I give the back the life I owe that in thee. That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be and I thought verse 2 was interesting. Oh light that follow us all my way. I yield my flickering torch to thee. My heart restores its borrowed ray that in thy sunshine's blaze its day. May brighter fairer be. Here is a man that found. That there was disappointments in life, but he found an answer in Christ. This morning, and I thought it was interesting. We're looking in Ephesians chapter one this morning. And it's interesting that the choir song and then the testimony both, actually the testimony at the end of his testimony, Is the name of my message. It is benefits of being gods child and we find it in Ephesians chapter one. We're going to, we're going to start in verse 3.  Here at verse three, notice and some of this gets a little deep. Okay, as far as the verbiage the wording, If you're not used to the Bible and reading the King James, you may say wow, this is pretty heavy vocabulary here, but it's starting in verse 3, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us notice what he hath blessed us with, all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places and how? In Christ. According as he hath chosen Us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. And here's our some of our verse that we're going to start into: In whom we have Redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. Wherein He hath abounded towards us and all wisdom and prudence having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of times. He might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance. Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Again as I was saying a little complex language a little heavy vocabulary. We're going to try to break some of that down and help us understand that in this passage, we're just going to look at three of the benefits of being God's child and as the testimony, as the testimony was given, if you're unsaved I'm praying that you would find that the benefits of being God's child way outweigh the benefits of staying in the devil's family.

If you are saved, I pray that it stirs your heart up and understanding what God has done and giving you salvation and because of that you would rejoice, you'd be so much more thankful of what God has given You and then you'd want to share it with others because God has blessed us. God has blessed us and giving us salvation, and a love that will not let us go.

There's a word in here used a couple of times and it's predestinated, and some people get scared with that word. But it's a Biblical word. It means that God basically knows and foreknows and it's not something that has to get us all bent out of shape. I as a human being I can tell you this I've studied theology.

I have worked on worked on reading different things and concepts when it comes to theology, but I can tell you this. I don't understand all about God, and I don't understand all the theology. We, as human beings we can try to say, but this is one thing that I can tell you, God does know everything. God knows everything and you'd say well does he know everybody that's going to be saved? Probably how can I say that he wouldn't know that and so people get bent out of shape. Like well, did he pick them up? I can't, I can't tell you everything, but the word is in the Bible you'll notice that normally he always continues to the thought when he says predestinated because we are predestinated. He predestinated us unto the adoption of the children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. So He knew I had a time and He adopted us into his family. How is that hard to, how is that saying that some people get all bent out of shape with election then get out bent out of shape with predestined in the and then there's a Calvinist group that has come in and so because God knows everybody, I guess we shouldn't go out and go soul winning. Well, how do you know who God knows? Alright. I don't see how it has to hurt us and saying that the word is in the Bible. The word is election and predestination. We don't have to get bent out of shape to say that God knows everybody who's going to be saved.  But I don't know everybody that's going to be saved, sorry because I'm not God. And the problem with a lot of folks and theology especially colonists and reformed Baptist, what they want to do is say they're God. I'm sorry, I'm glad you're not God. I'm glad no human being is God, but God is omniscient. He knows everything.  So knowing who's going to be saved does it bother me? It doesn't bother me, because God in His knowledge and His Wonder.  It should give us a settling to understand that God, we are trusting in somebody who is all-powerful all-knowing ever present in all situations and that can give me comfort just knowing that, that's one of the blessings of being one of God's children.

So this morning I want to look at three things in our text and regards to the benefits of being God's child.

Heavenly father. I pray that you would bless us. We look at this concept. I pray that you would give us clarity of thought it would help us, as we start into some thoughts in the book of Ephesians. Lord and Ephesians chapter 1 order some great benefits of being God's child, and we would ask that as God's children, You would solidify those things in our heart and if someone does not know You as their Savior, Lord that you would help them this morning the see The Wonder of being gods child and they would accept your free gift. As always Lord do that, which I can't and that is speak to our hearts. We ask can claim your power in Jesus name. Amen.

So notice in verse 7 and whom we have the word redemption. So we have three things that we're going to look at this morning three ideas. Just out of Ephesians chapter 1 of benefits of being God's child.

The first one is we have been redeemed.  We sing a song redeemed. Redeemed how something all right. That's really popular song. I guess because I can't remember it right now. But then we, there's a couple songs that have that idea of being redeemed. So what is redeemed mean? Okay well in the Old Testament there's a couple of ideas of redemption, you find it in the book of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

And the idea of redeemed is that some of the firstborn were redeemed, they were purchased. Another example in the Old Testament is in the Book of Ruth, and Book of Ruth you find an example of what was termed in the Israelites law a kinsman redeemer. And so the Book of Ruth deals with the idea of a kinsman redeemer, and it was it was the idea that if a, if a daughter or if a wife died and there was a relative that was there. They could come and be a kinsman redeemer and they could purchase. All right, they would have to purchase, they would have to kind of buy, and it sounds bad to say that they would have to buy into having this person as a wife, but it was an Israelite law. The idea was a purchase, a kinsman redeemer. But in the New Testament, we still have the idea of being redeemed. And so there's a couple of passages I'd like you to look at where there in Ephesians. So turn earlier. So we'll do them chronologically as far as in our Bible, turn to Romans chapter 3, Romans chapter 3.

Most people know that the book of Romans deals a lot with salvation.  And the beginning of the book of Romans you have heavy theology. And in Romans chapter 3 we start dealing with some of the ideas of sin and redemption so notice in Romans chapter 3 and verse 24, verse 23 many know this for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but notice in verse 24: Being justified freely by his grace. Here's our word: through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So we see it found their look at 1 Corinthians.  1 Corinthians chapter 6, a well-known verse this is another word for the word redeemed.  It's translated differently and our King James Bible. So there's different words for the word redeemed in the Greek. Remember the New Testament is written in Greek. So we see in Romans chapter 3 the word Redemption in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. We see another word: For ye are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. So where's the word redeemed? For ye are bought with that word bought, is the word redeemed, it means to purchase. The word bought there. The Greek word is exagorazo. Okay, I'm trying not to get too deep here. Okay, exagorazo, if you go over to the Middle East, if you go to Greek, Greece, you go to Rome. I can remember on a church trip going over and we went to an Agora. All right, if you look up the word Agora, agora.

Those are anxious marketplaces and Agora. So we went and visited and Corinth. We visited an Agora and Rome. I think we went through an area and they told us oh, this would be the Agora. All that simply means is a Marketplace and somebody would go to that market and they would pay money and off the shelves, they would buy something and they would purchase. So it simply means going and purchasing something at a store. I purchased, I buy. Okay. So we see that word in the Bible, then go to we have the word in Ephesians chapter, where were you at Corinthians? So let's go to another one Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3, just a little bit farther down in our Bibles Galatians chapter 3.

Notice what it says here: It's the word right and Galatians 3 in verse 13: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. Alright this word redemption has the idea of a ransom, remember of the choir song: He ransom me. It expresses the idea that we were held Ransom and Christ bought, paid in full the debt that was owed.

There's no claim anymore that the devil has over us. Why? Because Christ came and He paid the ransom. So in the Bible, you have a couple of different ideas of the word redeemed you have the idea of something being bought from a Marketplace. You have idea of being ransom, you were held captive, and you were redeemed. There's another time that we see this word. We see that in Ephesians 1, but then we see it in Colossians chapter 1, so Colossians chapter 1. And this is the same idea of ransoming.  Colossians 1 in verse 14, and whom we have Redemption through his blood even the Forgiveness of sins.  We have Redemption through His blood even the Forgiveness of sins. So what is the Bible telling us? Alright, so something was holding us captive or we had to be bought, we had to be purchased.

So the Bible says we have been redeemed. So what is being redeemed mean? There's a couple ideas and the Bible that give us some understanding of redeemed in it and Ephesians that says in whom we have Redemption In Christ through His blood. So it tells us what was used to buy us.  It says that Christ's blood purchased us, Christ's blood was that which was used to purchase our Redemption.

So one of the blessings of being God's child is that, I am no longer held in Ransom. I am no longer. I no longer have to say well. I'm just I'm caught in bondage, no Jesus Christ when He came and He, and He shed His blood and when we accept His free gift, He has purchased, He has freed us. That's the freedom, redemption in some sense gives freedom.

It releases you from bondage. So you no longer have bondage in sin, I am no longer. I am no longer in bondage. I've been redeemed, Jesus purchased me. So one of the ideas is that I've been rescued from bondage. The other idea is that, it gives redeemed, gives the idea of here was an old life and now I have a new life, because I've been redeemed. I've been purchased I've been taken out of this life, and I've been brought to a New Life.  And that's what we find in Christ's Redemption. Which go back to our text and Ephesians chapter one in whom we have Redemption through his blood and then it gives us another phrase, right, notice the second phrase, we have forgiveness of sin. All right, so I've been redeemed and then I've been released of sins debt, I've been released from sins debt, and we were there a little bit in Romans. So let's go back to Romans. Notice, we were there in Romans chapter 3. We looked at verse 24 where it says being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Then Paul continues the thought in chapter 4. He's talking about salvation notice in verse 4 of chapter 4. Romans 4:4 now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of Grace but of debt. So, it's talking about a debt. Look at verse 7 saying blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Go to chapter 5 Romans chapter 5.  Look at verse 10, for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His son much more being reconciled. We shall be saved by his life. So we were released, the first thing we're redeemed, we're bought, we're ransomed. We're no longer in bondage, we have a new life. But then the second thing is I've been released of my debt. I've been reconciled, now most of us understand a checkbook and we reconcile it. Okay, but we also understand the idea of forgiveness is a release of debt.  I looked up a couple of things and I thought this was interesting. In the world, I guess the physical world, we understand debt. Alright, most of it is credit card debt today, in America. And so people rack up credit card debt or they rack up debt all over the place. And then there is, you are in debt or there is somebody that basically owns your property, owns almost everything that you have, and so there are studies about debt. There's study, physically, listen to this. I looked it up and I what are the physical effects of debt on a person?  Denial. Denial, what does that mean? Denial means that some people when it comes to their physical deck or their credit cards. They just say, oh, it's not that bad.  It's denial. And some people say oh, you know what? It's not that bad. So they deny that they are in debt. Then, the other is another physical thing that happens is stress. It's stress that comes on people. They say that the average, the average household in America holds about 16 thousand dollars in credit card debt. Hopefully that's not you here this morning, but that's a lot of debt and so stress comes, fear and panic come on, the thought of getting a late payment, a late payment notice. Then, there's a, debt gives people just fear and anxiety, and I've talked to some people in the fear and panic that comes on people. Anger.  Anger comes and they caught that anger now, actually in the physical world, they have all these things. They've studied, there's that anger, there's depression.

So think about that in the physical world.  Denial, stress, fear, and panic, anger and depression, all of that because physically we owe a creditor. As I read about that physically, I've met a lot of people spiritually.  That have a weight of debt on them.  And you know when I tell them about Christ they get angry sometimes. There's some people that when I'm knocking on the door, they're like, well, I don't, and I don't have any debt. What are you talking about sin? Yeah. There's a there's a sin debt that all of us are born. And it needs released, it needs reconciled. How am I going to reconcile? And so there's all kinds of religions that have come up with kind of some unique ways to get rid of that debt, to release that fear and panic and to release that stress and help out with that depression because there is a sin debt, there is a heaviness that is on us. As we without Christ we walk through this life, and only Jesus Christ though offers a reconciliation. Without Jesus Christ, there's no reconciliation. There's no forgiveness of sins. I can work and work and work and work all I want, but it's in vain. And then I'm going to get mad, and then I'm going to be depressed, and then I'm going to have anger, and then I'm going to have all these different things and that's what we do within the unsaved world as an unsaved person here this morning. It may be that you're down and your depressed because of the sin, and you say "Man, I just can't seem to get under it", and people when I come to church, it's just a pile of guilt that comes on me. Yes, but it's not just that church. It says you walk through this life, because as you realize more and more that your sin weighs upon you and there's no way for you to reconcile it. It makes you fearful. It makes you panic, it makes you depressed, it makes you angry. You say it's not there, but it's still there, and how do I take care of it?  Jesus In this passage in Ephesians chapter 1: He redeemed us through His blood and He gave us the forgiveness of sins.  He released that debt, he took care of it for you and I. Jesus Christ, in His wonder, in His death, in the shedding of His blood, he redeemed us, He bought us, He ransomed us, and He released us from bondage. He gave us new life, and then He reconciled us, He released the debt that we owed to God.  But then we see a final thought here in this passage. It goes down later. You see down in verse 17. We were there up and verse 7 and 8 and it talks about the mystery of His will and all that. Then you go down to verse, actually verse 15: Wherefore, I also after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus. And love unto all the saints cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers and then He talks about and He cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers that the god of our Lord Jesus Christ. The father of Glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened. So then Paul at the end of chapter 1 he tells them "Hey, you have been redeemed. You've been reconciled or you've been restored. You've been your debt’s not restore, but your debt's has been reconciled". Okay, it's been released, but then he says and verses 17 through the end: he says your relationship has been restored. And what do we mean by that? We were afar off from God.  But when we're redeemed, were bought, were brought into a new family and my debt has been settled. Now my relationship is restored and what he says is I want you to know God.

When we're saved we now have a new relationship and it's with God. And notice in this relationship, It's prayer. Prayer is knowing god, that's verse 17 that the god of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of Glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.  You realize that because I've been redeemed, and because of been reconciled now, my relationship is restored. And God says "Hey, I want to get to know you". That's the beauty of being one of God's children. God wants a relationship. He says man. I'm praying for you guys, that you would get the knowledge of him.  And then in verse 18, he says that your eyes of your understanding being enlightened. He says not only do I want you to know God, but I want you to get wisdom and understanding from Him and look at verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe according to the working of His mighty power. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, in that verse, there's six words for power and the Greek, and one verse you have four of the six words. Four of the six words you have dunamis, power, that's dynamite. You have energia, that's the energy. There's another word in there, that means strength we get the word vigor from it. Another word that means power. It means forcefulness. So here in verse 19. What is the Bible telling us? What is the Apostle Paul telling these folks here and Ephesus he's saying you've been redeemed, you've been bought with a price you were in bondage, and now you have a new life you've been reconciled. Your debt is no longer there. Jesus paid it all. And because of that you have a relationship and through that relationship you get to know Him, you can have wisdom and not just that through this relationship, you have a unbelievable power, that a dynamite power and energy, a vigor, a force that is available to you to defeat the enemy, that is what is available to you in verse 19. What is the exceeding greatness of His power to us word who believe according to the working of His mighty power. It's not in you weren't redeemed with your blood. You weren't redeemed on your own you redeemed with His Precious Blood. You weren't reconciled of your own, of your own deeds. You were reconciled because Jesus Christ paid it all, and your relationship with Jesus Christ your relationship with God in Christ, we can have this power then.  So I asked you then, if prayer and what he's talking about is your prayer life, prayer unleashes God's power in your life, and in your circumstance.  So here are all of this is available to us. It's a benefit of being God's child. I'm redeemed, I'm reconciled and I'm restored.

So did you thank God this week for what He did for you?  Have you shared it with somebody? Have you shared it with somebody who in this world walks around with a heavy weight and they've denied it, and they're depressed, and there are, they have fear and they have panic. You know why because the weight of sin is on them. And they've had all kinds of ridiculous thoughts, and all kinds of religions that have come and come up with all kinds of different ways to get rid of that guilt.  But Jesus forgave them. Jesus came and He died on the cross so that their sins can be forgiven, and how are they going to know as Roman says and I think in Romans 10, how are they going to know without a preacher? How are they going to know unless you share what God has done, how He redeemed you? You were, alright, the idea of redeemed or Ransom also has the idea of slavery. And so I was on the slave block. I was, I was owned by Satan, and Jesus Christ came with His blood and there I was in my shackles and there you were that have been saved, you were there in your shackles, and Jesus came and said "No I bought, I will buy him" and He purchased me.

And He didn't purchase me to live a life of slavery and bondage, No, He purchased me to have freedom and liberty. And that's what Jesus Christ offers us and we've experienced that, then rejoicing that. Many of us we walk around and depression. Why are you walking around and depression you act like your sins are still waiting on you. Did Jesus forgive you? Have you been reconciled? Then stop living like the world. Christ through His Redemption, Christ through His forgiveness, Christ through His reconciliation has offered us a new life, a new power, and that new power is available to us, and we see it found there in verse 19. There's a man in our there was a management's was many years ago. There's a man in Dundee, Scotland. He was confined to his bed for over 40 years. He broke his neck and a fall at the age of 15. He loved the Lord. He stayed true to His Lord and He would have people come and share scriptures with them and sing with them and all kinds of different things. His Spirit was so great, his cheer, his love for the Lord, that it inspired people. So normally, he had a flow of visitors coming to see him. All through his 40 years, he was confined to a wheelchair, he was, he couldn't, and he couldn't walk. He couldn't move that much.  But he never lost the love of the Lord one day a visitor was coming, to visit this man, and they asked him they say doesn't Satan ever tempt you to doubt God?  And he said "Oh, yes. Oh, yeah, he does, he tries to tempt me. I lie here and I see my schoolmates going by and I somebody will come in and they'll tell me about some of my friends that I was in school with and they're doing this and they're doing this and they're around the world. And Satan comes and says if God so good. Why does he keep you here all these years? If he's so good, why did he permit you to have your neck broken?  And the guest looked at this man as now he was getting older and still sitting and just looking out the window, and cook, can't really move.  And they asked him and said so what do you tell Satan? And this man said "I take him to Calvary, and I show him Christ". And I take them up and I have them see the wounds in his hands and the wounds in his feet and his pure side.  And I tell Satan, don't tell me that Christ doesn't love me, and Satan has no answer, and he leaves me every time.  This morning. I asked you as a Christian when you're battling with, with maybe some of the things that sin brings on.  When you're battling with some of those things and have you forgotten that you've been redeemed? Have you forgotten that you've been reconciled, have you forgotten that your relationship has been restored? They come back to the foot of Calvary and take Satan there, and tell Satan you can say whatever, but you don't own me anymore.  You can say whatever but my debts been paid.  And Calvary’s blood, will free you from that bondage.

This morning you may not be saved, and there's a weight of sin upon you, you don't even know what it is. But you coming to church and you walk through life and there's a weight of sin there.

And the weight of sin is there because you've never come to a point that you've asked Jesus to forgive you of that sin. Jesus did pay the price. He can reconcile your sin, but it's a choice that every one of us has to make personally. My family. Alright, as far as my kids. I cannot do this for him. It's an individual decision. And this morning you may say man, there's a wait there and I have felt that, I have felt that anger and I've said I've denied it or I've been depressed or I've been angry and I've been fearful and I've been panicked about different things as far as the sin and the weight of sin.

Well, Jesus paid it. Jesus Paid that debt he paid it well over 2,000 or almost 2,000 years ago, and through the blood of Jesus Christ we have been redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. You have forgiveness and through the blood of Jesus Christ. You can have a restored relationship this morning.

In Ephesians chapter 1 that tells us about the benefits of being God's child. So are you God's child this morning heads bowed.

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