Sermon Central
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Spiritual Blessings Series
Contributed by Larry Brincefield on Jun 9, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: Sermon Series on Ephesians. Why Praise? (from last week) These are some of the reasons why.
Sermon preached by Rev. Larry C. Brincefield on Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Title: Ephesians #3:
Text: Ephesians 1:7-10
Introduction
1. Last week we praised the Lord for 3 things…
• All spiritual blessings.
• That fact that God chose us…
• And He predestined us.
2. In this next passage of Scripture, we find that Paul goes on and lists some of the spiritual blessings that we have to be thankful for.
Let’s read about them in our text: Ephesians 1:7-10
Body
1. We have Redemption through His blood v. 7a
A. Christ has redeemed us
• The word "redemption" is one of the great words of the Bible.
• It gives the idea of deliverance or setting a man free by paying a ransom.
• For example, a prisoner of war or a kidnapped person is held for ransom.
• If the family pays the ransom…
• Then the prisoner will go free…
• If no one agrees to pay the ransom…
• Then the prisoner will be killed.
• In each case the person is unable to free themselves.
• They are unable to pay the penalty that is demanded for their liberation.
B. In the spiritual sense, this has great meaning…
• We have been kidnapped by the forces of sin.
• From the moment we are born…
• We are under the control of sin.
• Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
• All people sin and they cannot stop sinning on their own…
• Satan has us under his control…
• We are unable to liberate ourselves from the power of sin.
• We need liberation…and there was no one to step forward and pay the ransom….
• Until Jesus Christ came!!
• God has redeemed us by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
• God has paid the ransom for our release…
• a life for a life…
• God gave His own Son so that we might be set free.
• We are redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ
• Matthew 20:28 says, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
• Romans 3:24 says, “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus;
• when cry out to God to save us,…
• God pays the price for our ransom…
• He “buys us back” as it were from the power of satan…
• The price that He paid was the life’s blood of Jesus, His Only Son.
C. Pretty incredible isn’t it?
• That’s quite a spiritual blessing!!
• Why would God do something like that?
• We find the answer to that at the end of verse 7…
• “In him we have redemption through his blood,…
• IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE”
• God redeems us because of His grace…
• He loves us with a love that is so great…
• And yet we cannot even begin to understand it…
• And yet that same love motivates Him to do whatever is required to save people from their sin.
• Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life”
• So Jesus willingly went to the cross…
• And as Horatio Spafford wrote in that great hymn, “It is well with my soul”, “Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul”
2. So, we have redemption through His blood…what an incredible spiritual blessing…
A. We also have forgiveness of sins…v. 7b
• This spiritual blessing runs parallel to the idea of redemption…
• But there’s great meaning in this word, “Forgiveness”…
• That I want to explore it in more detail…
• All people are guilty of breaking God’s law…
• And the penalty for breaking that law is death….
• But the blood of Jesus Christ brings forgiveness to all people who are willing to accept it.
• He took the penalty of sin upon Himself…
• He was able to do this because He was the only Perfect Man;
• When He died, He died as the Perfect Man,…
• So that we don’t have to…
• Anyone who believes that Jesus Christ died for him…
• and accepts Him in their heart…
• is forgiven of their sins.
• So, when God looks at us…
• He doesn’t see our sin…
• He sees the blood of Jesus…
• the guilt and penalty for breaking God’s laws are completely removed….
• Our sin and our guilt is washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. —Practical Word Studies in the New Testament
