Last week we reviewed three blessings every believer has received from God the Father: He has chosen us (v 4); He has adopted us (v 5); and He has accepted us (v 6). We concluded with verse 6 where we saw that the word accepted (wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved) comes from the Greek word charitoŒoµ that comes from the root word chaŒris (grace) and means to grace, highly honor or greatly favor. In the NT this word is only used one other time describing the Virgin Mary in Luke 1:28. The verb charitoŒoµ declares the Virgin Mary to be highly favored, approved of God to conceive the Son of God through the Holy Spirit.

Do you see the similarity? God, by His grace, declared Mary acceptable to carry Jesus inside herself and by His Grace, God declares every believer acceptable to carry the Spirit of Christ inside himself or herself!!!

This week we will be looking at verses 7-12 where we will see the blessings from God the Son. It would be incorrect to assume that each Person of the Godhead works independently, because they all work together to make possible our salvation. But each Person of the Trinity has a special work to be done…a special "spiritual deposit" to make into our lives.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:7-12 NASB95)

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (Ephesians 1:7-12 KJV)

He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.
He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God’s secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure.
And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago.
God’s purpose was that we who were the first to trust in Christ should praise our glorious God. (Ephesians 1:7-12 NLT)

Our English word in comes from the Greek word en that means in, on, at, by any place or thing, but carries with it the primary idea of rest. As we rest in Him, we have redemption.

The word redemption comes from the Greek word apoluŒtroµsis that means to let go free for a ransom. In this case, the ransom was the blood of Jesus and those ransomed include everyone who accepts His payment for their release…Satan has kidnapped all humans by deceiving Adam; the second Adam (Christ) has paid their ransom price with His blood.

The word forgiveness comes from the Greek word aŒphesis.

root words, apoŒ, from, and hieµmi, to send. The picture that comes to mind is the scapegoat. Once a year, the High Priest would bring two goats before the people, kill one, sprinkle its blood before God on the mercy seat and confess the sins of the people over the live goat. That goat was then taken out into the wilderness where it would be lost and never return; a symbol of the removal of sin from Israel and a foreshadowing of the cross where Jesus would carry away the sins of the world, never to be seen again.

How forgiven are we? According to the riches of His grace. Are God’s resources limited? Is there any limit to the riches of God’s grace?

The word wisdom is the Greek word sophéŒa. When used to describe God, it means surpassing all others in wisdom, being infinite in skill, insight, knowledge, and purity.

The words insight or prudence comes from the Greek phroŒneµsis, good judgement.

Paul is declaring that God, according to His goodness, has used the best ends as well as the best means to reveal the mystery of His will to those who believe. There can be no wisdom or prudence apart from goodness. The word mystery does not mean something hard to understand, but describes a secret that is hidden and is made known only by revelation of the One who’s secret it is. The Greek word is musteµ�rion.

The root word is mueŒoµ, to shut the mouth. To initiate into the mysteries, introduce to things not known before, to learn a secret. Reminds me of the southern expression: "Well shut my mouth!" used to express amazement when something not known before is revealed.

What is this mystery? It is the spiritual secret made known to believers that God will one day unite everything in heaven and on earth under the authority of Jesus Christ. Ever since sin entered into the world, things have been falling apart...everything is dying...man was separated from God...man has been separated from man by war and murder...man has been separated from the animals and kills them for his food and clothing...all man’s attempts to bring about peace and unity have failed, but one day God will bring it all back together again in Christ Jesus and believers are given the privilege of being a part of this great plan.

When will this happen? When God determines the time is right. The word in verse 10 translated "administration" in the NASB95 and "dispensation" in the KJV, is the Greek word oikonoméŒa that means the position, work, responsibility or arrangement of an administration, as of a house or of property. The dispensation of God is the administration of His grace…the character of His attitude toward humans. The phrase "fullness of times" is the translation of two Greek words, pleµ�roµma, to fill up or make full, and kairoŒs that means season or opportune time. This is not merely a succession of minutes or events that mark the passage of time (chroŒnos), but a period of opportunity...a point in time when something needs to happen...the time is right. Only God knows when that point in time is right.

Twice in this section, Paul says that God has given us something or made known to us something "according to". In verse 7, it is forgiveness according to the riches of His grace. In verse 9, it is the knowledge of His mystery according to His good pleasure. The phrase "according to" comes from the Greek word kataΠthat has the primary meaning of down or down from. It describes the motion of moving from a higher to a lower place.

Compare Ephesians 3:16:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being…(NIV)

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. (NLT)

If someone gives "out of" or "from" their riches, they may give a very small, limited amount even if they are very wealthy. But if they give "according to" their riches and they are rich, the amount will be large…if they have unlimited resources, as with God, the amount will be unlimited!

Paul is saying that God has handed down His forgiveness, not in a limited way, not "out of" or "from", but according to the unlimited riches of His grace...He has handed down to us the knowledge of His mystery, not in a limited way, but according to His unlimited good pleasure. The idea that needs to be understood here is that every gift from God comes because of His rich grace or good pleasure, not because we deserve it!

In verse 7a, we saw that God the Son has redeemed us, in verse 7b, we saw that He has forgiven us, in verses 8-10, we saw that He has revealed God’s will to us…now in verses 11-12, we will see that…

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:10-12)

Again, we see the phrase "in Him" which appears in this form or some variation of "in Christ" or "in Jesus" over 130 times in the New Testament. The little word "in" conveys the idea of rest...as we rest "in Him", we have an inheritance. It is critically important for Christians to understand that all of God’s grace, riches and blessings are found "in Christ"...we receive those only as we are "in Him" and He is "in us"...none of God’s benefits are given apart from Jesus!

The phrase "obtained an inheritance" comes from the Greek word kleµroŒoµ meaning to cast lots to determine something or to choose someone. At first glance, it would seem that our inheritance in Him is a matter of chance, a gamble, but luckily, we were chosen. But to the Greeks and Romans, the casting of lots was a way of determining the will of the gods. They would mark stones for each person, place them into a vessel and have one person shake them violently with his face turned away. The first stone to fall from the vessel and hit the gound was the person chosen...they believed this was the divine choice.

According to the Authorized Version, Ephesians 1:11means, "in whom the lot has fallen upon us also, as foreordained thereto . . . to be". The idea expressed here is that Christians have become heirs of God due to the fact that God predestined them according to His purpose. In a manner of speaking, the "lot" fell to believers not by chance but solely because of the gracious and sovereign decision of God Almighty to select them to be His heirs.

The King James Version reads, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance," but "in whom also we were made an inheritance" is also a possible translation. Both are true and the one includes the other. In Christ we have a wonderful inheritance (1 Peter 1:1–4), and in Christ we are an inheritance. We are valuable to Him. Think of the price God paid to purchase us and make us part of His inheritance! God the Son is the Father’s love gift to us; and we are the Father’s love gift to His Son. Read John 17 and note how many times Christ calls us "those whom Thou hast given Me." The church is Christ’s body (Eph. 1:22–23), building (Eph. 2:19–22), and bride (Eph. 5:22–23); Christ’s future inheritance is wrapped up in His church. We are "joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17), which means that He cannot claim His inheritance apart from us!

Once again, we see that this inheritance was theirs and is ours, not because we deserve it, but because God, in His rich grace favors the undeserving. Once again the words "predestinated" and "according to" are used to describe God’s purpose. His purpose was predestinated (proorizo, determined beforehand), not some last minute idea and according to (kata, down from) the counsel of His own will…God did this on His own. The word counsel is the Greek word bouleµ� which means intention as the result of reflection and should be distinguished from theŒleµma. which describes the commanding and executing will of God. The will (bouleµ�) of God refers only to God’s own purpose. TheŒleµma includes the idea of power to accomplish and signifies the will urging on to action, while bouleµ�, the counsel preceding the resolve, signifies the decision.

Why did God do all this? According to verse 9, it pleased Him. What was the result of His redeeming, forgiving, adopting and revealing His will? Look at verse 12. There was a group who first believed in Christ…this group came into existence as the result of God’s plan and purpose. The phrase "that we should be" (eéŒnai) means that they should exist. Why? So that the God who made it happen would receive our praise and be glorified!

Next week, we will discover the blessings from God the Holy Spirit…verses 13-14.

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