Ephesians 1:1-14 - Sovereign Authority of our Redemption

Ephesians 1:1-14

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Redemption in Christ

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 should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Here Paul begins by pointing out his authority is given by God and not an office he sought out or earned by any goodness or ability of his own.  It is important to the readers of this letter to know that these words therefore are God’s words to us all, both the direct recipients of the letter written to the believers in Ephesus and to us now who are made holy in Christ’s righteousness and so named as saints.  This name has been adulterated by the Roman system to exclude all believers who have believed into Jesus Christ and His righteousness and made into a mockery of God work by attributing sainthood to those selected by man and not by God as the apostles were and all reborn believers are in Christ alone.  The reformers knew this well and exposed the false doctrine of saints as well as pointing out the authority of scripture over any man’s, including the pope and the religious system claiming authority and superiority over biblical structure and practice of worship.  Our grace and peace come through the authority of Jesus Christ as the one chosen by the Lord wrote to us in this letter and others under the inspiration of Christ and His Spirit to convey the Father’s truth and commands to us which we teach (Matthew 28:19-20) to converts whom God saves by the message we have been entrusted with and proclaim as the best of good news to the world.  This same Lord has blessed us spiritually in the inner man with heavenly authority and grace because we are brought into Christ through repentance and faith given by Him that we may be reborn as new people (Galatians 2:20) and made His children and heirs of eternal life.  We had been chosen to be the children of God from before time began, before God spoke the universe into existence!  This truth of God’s authority and will is most uncomfortable and rejected by believers who have been taught doctrines of men as Rome has done (who also reject that we can be assured of our salvation and eternal destination in Christ) because it negates man’s power of will and self determination to choose salvation apart from God’s enabling work.  The word of God still has authority over man’s teaching as it is written here and other places (Romans 8:29-30, 1 Peter 1:2) concerning God’s predetermined work to choose us that we may appear to choose Him.  This predestination of God grates against our pride of choice and is magnified even more in democratic societies where all appears to be a result of our own works instead of those of a sovereign God.  It is therefore God who chooses His children as heirs of eternity, adopted in love and made holy in our position in Christ and His holiness that makes every child of God a saint.  This is His good will toward men (Luke 2:14) and grace of the free gift of deliverance from sin’s penalty earned by the work of Jesus Christ alone.  God our Father has made us accepted in His Beloved by the Grace in which we glorify Him!  Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of sin by sacrificing Himself on the tree of cursing we call the cross, covering our sin by the lifeblood of His life given for ours in the perfect sacrifice that never needs to be repeated as the animal sacrifices were done yearly in the temple of old.  This grace has revealed these previously hidden things of His will and predetermined purpose to us according to His good will and not our own wisdom.  He now gathers His chosen children together in the time prepared (Galatians 4:4-5) from the moment God became a man (John 1:1, 14) among us, Immanuel.  He is gathering us to Himself and giving us such an everlasting inheritance as we trust Him according to His word like Abraham before us (Romans 4:13, 16, 23-25) to give all glory to the Savior of all whom He calls.  When He calls a man or woman to Himself He gives us the faith to understand and take Him at His word for this work done in His Son to buy us back (redeem) at such a price and then seals us as His own forever by His own Spirit as a signet ring of eternal ownership.  This presence of God Himself within us who teaches us all things is our guarantee of salvation which cannot be lost or forfeited.  These things are to the praise of His glory for the work of Christ and calling as His inheritance by the predetermined calling of our sovereign Lord and Savior who is our sovereign authority of redemption.  Amen and amen.