In Christ

Blessings in Christ Ephesians 1:3
If you are “in Christ” you are on the way.

Ephesians 1:3-6
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 has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Blessed
Blessed – (Greek eulogeo) – to bestow a favor, provide with benefits, the act of benefit or blessing
Blessings – come full circle
They begin with God
They bless us
We bless God in return
God blesses – just because He wants to
And we bless back – because we are thankful

NOTICE:
They are spiritual blessings
We are prone to think in physical terms – house, car, money, health, children
These blessings are not physical or material
Spiritual blessings = salvation, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, grace, mercy, love (and many more)

NOTICE:
They are available in the spiritual realm
“ In heavenly places” - not in earthly places
Greek word can refer to:
1 – Sky, clouds, where birds fly
2 – Heavenly bodies, stars and planets, sun, moon
3 – The location of transcendent things, the dwelling place of God

In Christ
Ephesians is full of this concept
11 times in the first 14 verses
Every spiritual blessing IN CHRIST – 3
Chose us IN HIM – 4
Made us accepted IN THE BELOVED – 6
IN HIM we have redemption – 7
Which He purposed IN HIMSELF – 9

In Christ
11 times in the first 14 verses
Gather together in one all things IN CHRIST – 10
IN HIM we have obtained an inheritance – 11
We who first trusted IN CHRIST – 12
IN HIM you also trusted – 13a
IN WHOM also, having believed, you were sealed – 13b

In Christ
Similar phrases are found in the rest of Ephesians.
1:20
2:6-7, 10, 13
3:6, 11, 21
4:32

The uses of “IN”
“ IN” has two uses in the NT
Locative - “IN” describes the location
“ I put the ball in the box.”
Notice “in” tells the location
Instrumental - “IN” introducting the means, by means of
“ Dr. Salk was important in finding a cure for polio.”
Notice here “in” is not a location but a means

These verses tell us the location
“ IN” is describing the location of these blessings
Other phrases support this view:
TOGETHER WITH CHRIST – 2:5
RAISE UP TOGETHER – 2:6
SIT TOGETHER – 2:6
BROUGHT NEAR BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST – 2:13

The Primary Idea in Ephesians
The primary idea in Ephesians is not that Christ is the means by whom these blessings come.
Of course, He is the means (but that is not the emphasis here).
The primary idea is where these spiritual blessings are located.
Our whole life must be located “in Christ”

Romans 6:3-5
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

Galatians 3:26-28
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus .
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus .

Questions
Are you “in Christ”?
Have you been baptized “into Christ”?
All the spiritual blessings available are “in Christ.”
Are you in the location where all these blessings are available to you?

In Christ

by Manly Luscombe on Sep 19, 2011

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In Christ — Presentation Transcript