The Real Gospel, Too Good Not to Be True – Part 2

In part 1 of this series, we focused on the Gospel as it relates to being foreknown, predestined, called, justified, then finally glorified by God. Wow, wow, wow! You need to go back and digest that first if you haven’t yet. 

Let’s focus on another facet of the “too-good-not-to-be-true Gospel” in another passage. Buckle up—we are diving into Ephesians 1. Ready, set, go!

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him, 10 regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. 11 In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:3–14 (New American Standard Bible, emphasis added)

That’s A LOT! But think about it—that is good news! You get/got ALL that!

So, let’s unpack the goodies.

So here’s the line-up. We get:

• Being blessed with every spiritual blessing
• Being chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (united with Him)
• Being holy and blameless before Him
• Predestined with adoption as sons and daughters 
• His grace, with which He favored us
• Redemption through His blood
• Forgiveness of our wrongdoings
• In the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ
• in the heavens
• on the earth
• having obtained an inheritance
• having been predestined according to the purpose of Him
• to be to the praise of His glory
• having been sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise

Notice a few things overall. These are ALL past tense, except the fulfillment of the redemption of all things. This is ongoing and will continue until it is complete in the fullness of time. I will be unpacking this to varying depths in the next two blogs in the series. Let’s start out with blessing.

Being Blessed

“To bless” is the Greek verb eulogeō, which means to praise, consecrate, to cause to prosper, to make happy, to favor, to celebrate. When God blessed Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:22, it was the Hebrew word bāraḵ, which adds in the concept of kneeling and adoration. God adores His kids so much that He kneels down to bless them. That may ruffle a few religious feathers, but a good feather-ruffling is really good for us to break off religiosity!

Being blessed “with every spiritual blessing” shows us that God doesn’t skimp. Notice the every terminology. Note, too, that heavenly blessing always precedes earthly blessing. You have treasure in heaven that is there to translate into treasure in the seen realm. Jesus told His disciples to pray for heaven to come to earth (Matt. 6:10).

God wants us to prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper (2 John 1:2). When we have a prosperous soul, that translates into a healthy, loving, whole mind, will, emotions, and personality, just like Christ. That is where we won’t hoard or use material prosperity for selfish, destructive ends. We will freely enjoy and be a blessing to others.

God in 1 Timothy 6:17 (King James Version) says:

17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

Our trust is not in material riches, and we should not be puffed up by them. Material riches are, after all, uncertain. But our trust is in a God who is alive in us, loving us, and who wants us to enjoy our lives!

These are such amazing thing to meditate on. The more you do, the more you will feel “mind-blowingly” blessed and see blessings come your way—one after the other after the other! Did we work to make this happen or work to earn it? No, I don’t see us anywhere except as the recipient, being in Christ.

Being Chosen and United with Christ

Being chosen in Him before the foundation of the world means we were united with Him before the world was even created. Ephesians 1:4 highlights this:

4 And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe] Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.

The Passion Translation (TPT) (emphasis added)

Second Timothy 1:9 expounds even further:

9 He gave us resurrection life[a] and drew us to himself by his holy calling on our lives. And it wasn’t because of any good we have done, but by his divine pleasure and marvelous grace that confirmed our union with the anointed Jesus, even before time began!

TPT (emphasis added)

So let’s go back. How were we united with Christ? Was it our decision or His?

When were we united with Christ? Was it when we said a prayer or before the foundation of the world?

You got it—before the foundation of the world! Even Jesus said that His disciples didn’t choose Him; He chose them (John 15:16). Well, reading this, you are a disciple of Christ—learning about Him and trying to follow Him. He chose you! Our prayer to choose Him back was an awakening to His choice of love for you, and that is when you started experiencing eternal life—knowing Christ and Father God, and by implication, Holy Spirit (John 17:3). 

But that was NOT when you were joined to Christ or made in Christ. 

It is actually impossible to be outside of Christ except in our minds and, hence, our experience, because Christ never separated from His creation (Col. 1:21). He fills all in all (Eph. 1:22–23). 

We could rabbit trail all over the place of what that means about so many things, but let’s stick with these verses and the true Gospel. If you want to dig deeper, I have a 4-part series starting with “One with God – Living in the Promises of the True Gospel – Part 1.” Have fun!
https://youtu.be/qy4bTfB-FSA

In the meantime, isn’t it so wonderful to be chosen by the One Who sees EVERYTHING and simply adores you?!

Holy and Blameless Image-Bearers of God

“Being holy and blameless before Him” and being “predestined with adoption as sons and daughters,” as well as (going down the list) “having been predestined according to the purpose of Him” all go hand-in-hand. 

You are holy and blameless according to your original design, which is your TRUE nature. This is what it means to be a son/daughter of God. We see this in Ephesians 2:10, which rings out your value and purpose:

10 For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

Amplified Bible (AMP) (emphasis added)

Your choice for Him did not make that so, but it caused you to start partnering with Him to let go of sinful things and embrace the holiness of your design. Ultimately, your destiny is to be conformed into the image of your Elder Brother, Jesus, and from there to fulfill many wonderful plans. You are an image-bearer of God by His design (Gen. 1:26–27). You get to cooperate with that and walk it out as you yield to God’s leading. That is good news—part of the beautiful Gospel!  

There is so much more to unpack, so we will continue and this in Part 3 of this series. In the meantime, revel in everything we have discussed so far. Let me know what you think!

Much Love, 

Catherine