Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him 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, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:3-23)
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· NT Wright said of this passage: “Paul’s great prayer at the opening of this letter is a celebration of the larger story within which every single Christian story—every story of individual conversion, faith, spiritual life, obedience and hope—is set. Only by understanding and celebrating the larger story can we hope to understand everything that’s going on in our own smaller stories, and so observe God at work in and through our own lives.”[1]
o On Sunday we talked about the different “stories” we all bring to worship.
o Think about your own story.
What’s going on in your life right now?
How might God be working in that story?
· What do you think it means to be “chosen” by the Father and “adopted” into His family?
· How did Jesus work to deliver us from sin? How does that deliverance relate to our “chosen-ness” and “adoption” into God’s family?
· Have you ever paid or been paid a “down payment” for something? How does that work? What do you think Paul means when he talks about the Holy Spirit as our guarantee or “down payment”?
· Spend a few moments re-writing the final paragraph (vs. 15-23) of this prayer in your own words. What kind of power does Paul say is available to believers in Christ? Why do you think believers so often live defeated lives? How can we begin to live more fully into our status as followers of the One who is the “head over all things”?
May our stories get swallowed up as we live into God’s great story! If you want to catch up on any messages in this series they can be accessed here.
Blessings on your week,
Steven