YOU ARE RICHER THAN YOU THINK
Introduction: There was a cartoon that I saw that I thought was pretty funny.
The cartoon showed a lawyer reading a client’s last will and testament to a group of greedy relatives. The caption read: “I, John Jones, being of sound mind and body, spent it all.”
When we went to Alaska a few years ago our oldest son told us, “I’m not sure we like you doing all this traveling.” I thought he was concerned about our safety until he added, “You’re spending our inheritance.” I told him, “You misunderstand. There’s not going to be any inheritance.”
When the Lord Jesus Christ wrote His last will and testament for His church, He made it possible for us to share His spiritual riches.
Instead of spending it all, Jesus paid it all. His death on the cross and His resurrection make possible our salvation.
In Ephesians 1:4-14 the Apostle Paul names just a few of the blessings that tell us that “We Are Richer than We Think.”
Capital One has numerous commercials to introduce its Credit Card with emphasis on protecting the user. At the end of the commercial, they always ask the question, “What’s in your wallet?” The Book of Ephesians has been called “The Believer’s Bank”, “The Christian’s Checkbook”, and “Treasure House of The Bible”. This is because the main theme of Ephesians is our riches in Christ.
Paul is writing to the Church at Ephesus. He begins in chapter 1, verse 1, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.” Notice that he calls the Ephesian Christians “saints.” It’s hard to believe that Paul referred to them as “saints.” It’s even harder to think of Christians today as “saints.”
Don’t be afraid to call yourself a “saint.” If you are saved, then you are a saint.
It is life-transforming to rest in what God says we are, and live with its applications.
It’s been said that there are only two types of people: “Saints and Aint’s.” It’s like the old black preacher once said, “Either you is or either you ain’t.
It’s been put this way:
“To live above with people we love that will be glory; but to live below with people we know, now that’s another story.”
The word for saints is “hagios” which means “holy” or “separated.” The primary intent of the word is “set aside for the sole use of God, or that which belongs to God.”
Paul tells them in verse 3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us all with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” What are some of the blessings that make us “richer than we think we are?” First:
THE SELECTION GOD THE FATHER
He has selected us. Verse 4, “According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him, in love.”
This is known as the “doctrine of election.” It’s a doctrine that has confused some and confounded others. One of my professors said this about election: “Try to explain election and you may lose your mind. But try to explain it away, you may lose your soul.”
Paul is trying to explain to the Ephesian Christians that because of the Lord, they are better off than they think they are.
Two old guys from a seniors home were sitting outside enjoying the sunshine when one turned to the other and said, "Hey Bob, I'm 83 years old and I'm just full of aches and pains. You’re about my age. How do you feel?" And Bob said, "I feel just like a newborn baby." "Really? Like a new-born baby?" "Yep. I’ve got no hair, no teeth, and I think I need to change my pants.”
There’s another word in these verses that confuse people. Verse 5, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
The word “predestination” is a sore spot in some churches. Some people believe and preach that some are “predestined to go to heaven and some are predestined to go to hell.” That is a false doctrine and nothing could be further from what the Bible teaches.
The Apostle Peter clarifies this position in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Underline that in your Bible. God is not willing that any should perish.
Jesus said in Luke 15:7, “I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons, who need no repentance.”
We shouldn’t let election and predestination confuse us. Evangelist D.L. Moody put in this way: “The whosoeverwills are the elect and the whosoeverwon’ts are the non-elect.”
Jesus said in Rev. 22:17, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Also in John 6:37 Jesus tells us, “All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no way cast out.”
Men are not lost because they have not been elected. They are lost because they are sinners and that is the way they want it and that is the way they have chosen. The free will of man is never violated because of the election of God. God has never predestined anyone to be lost. That’s where our free will comes in, and we have to determine ourselves what our choice will be. Remember, God chose us; God selected us before the foundation of the world. The second point is:
THE SACRIFICE OF GOD THE SON
Verses 7-12 tells us that God the Son paid the price for us. Man is a rotten, corrupt sinner and he cannot do anything else but sin – he is a slave to sin. Christ came to pay the price of man’s freedom. That is what the Lord Jesus meant when He said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed,” John 8:36.
Verse 7 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
Our redemption is “through his blood.” That was the price which He paid.
The hymn Miss Frankie used to play for us says, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song: Amazing Grace all day long, Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.”
Remember it was God the Father that selected us; and God the Son who sacrificed for us and now we see:
THE SEAL OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
Verses 13-14, “In whom you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
What does the Holy Spirit do?
First – The Holy Spirit Convicts Us. There is the conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit convicts the world that man is sinful. It is the Holy Spirit that makes us realize that we have missed the mark, and that we have fallen short of the glory of God. Not only does the Holy Spirit convict us:
Second – The Holy Spirt Comforts Us.
Jesus said in Luke 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.”
The word “comforter” in the Greek is “parakletos” which means “one called alongside to help.” In verse 18, Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” Jesus will be with us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
As your pastor, I have tried to comfort many of you over the years, but I cannot comfort you like the Holy Spirit can and does. Also in verse 26, Jesus adds, “But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever, I have said unto you.”
What things will the Holy Spirit teach us? For one thing, He will teach us how to survive our grief; He will give us hope for a better day. When it seems like our burdens become too heavy to bear, He’s there to lift us up.
Then Jesus says in verse 27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The world’s solution to obtain peace is a pill, or practice this method or that method; try this or try that and see if it works. Only God can give the “peace that passes all understanding.
So far we’ve seen that the Holy Spirit “convicts us,” and then “comforts us” and finally:
Third - The Holy Spirit Calls Us. 2 Timothy 1:9, “Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
God called us, not on the basis of our good works, but completely on the basis of His grace. It is His purposes that we are to fulfill; and if these purposes include suffering, then we can accept it by faith and know that God’s will is best. This is not fatalism. It is confidence in the wise plan of our gracious Heavenly Father.
IN CLOSING
We are richer than we think. What did Paul say at the beginning in verse 3, “Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
When our son, Philip, was about six years old, he came to us and said he needed some money for a new toy. I told him that we didn’t have the money for a new toy. He said, “Well, just write a check.”
Charles Spurgeon wrote a devotional book which is entitled “A Checkbook on the Bank of Faith.” He gave a promise from the Bible for each day of the year, along with a short devotional message. He described each promise as being as good as money in the bank to anyone who would claim it by faith, as a person would write a check against his bank account. By faith we can claim God’s promises and draw on His limitless wealth to meet every need we may face.
By Pastor: Lamar Truitt
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