Ephesians 1:3-10 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. That is, in Christ, he chose us before the world was made so that we would be his holy people—people without blame before him. Because of his love, God had already decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. That was what he wanted and what pleased him, and it brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely, in Christ, the One he loves. In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death, and so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich is God’s grace, which he has given to us so fully and freely. God, with full wisdom and understanding, let us know his secret purpose. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ. His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.

These verses say that "in Christ" we have been given every spiritual blessing. How does that work in our everyday lives?

As humans, we tend to value the material over the spiritual.

When it says He chose us be before the world was made, does that mean I have no choice?

Humans have a choice, they can remain "in Adam" where they were born and receive his life and eternal destiny or we can be supernaturally removed from Adam and placed "in Christ" where we can enjoy His life and eternal destiny.

The experience of being "in Christ" is by faith…the visible evidence is sometimes not very clear…but everything that lasts eternally will be "in Christ".

Mark 11:24 So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.

Name Five things Christians often pray for that they have already received in Christ:

	Forgiveness of sins
	Acceptance by God
	Righteousness and holiness
	Victory
	Power

How does a person become holy? 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, because God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.

Holiness is a gift from God and is bestowed upon all who believe on Jesus Christ.

On a scale of 1-100, how holy are Christians?

All God’s gifts, including holiness, are perfect…nothing is required to make the gift complete.

What would you say to a person who says they’re trying to become holy?

Good luck! All human efforts to become holy are fruitless.

If believers have already received victory in Christ, why don’t they experience it in every situation of life?

Because they are not depending upon Jesus…they believe what they see instead of what He says.

There are two dimensions of victory just as there are two dimensions of righteousness:

The state or condition of victory. This is the victorious life that is our identity and is acquired by our new spiritual birth. It is the victory of Christ, freely given to us, that makes us right with God.

The performance of living victoriously. Although believers are victorious by birth, acting victorious is a moment-by-moment choice. Only when we let Christ express His life through us, by faith presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, is victorious behavior produced. Christians can produce "victorious-looking behavior" independently, but such behavior is rejected by God because He is not the Source of the action. Victorious living never makes us right with God, even when He is the Source, because it’s never perfect, it just makes our life here more abundant.

Can you identify an area of your life where you are not experiencing victory? What are the reasons you are not knowing victory? What is necessary for you to know victory in this area?

A child-like dependence upon Jesus is the only way to experience victory!

Any questions or thoughts about this week’s lesson?

Next week we will discuss our relationship to God’s written law…

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