A Series from Ephesians

Praising God’s Glorious Plan Ephesians 1:3-14
Knowing Our Position in Christ Ephesians 1:15-23
Changing Our Direction Ephesians 2:1-10
Breaking Down the Barriers Ephesians 2:11-22
Revealing Hidden Secrets Ephesians 3:1-13
Igniting Our Spiritual Potential Ephesians 3:14-21
Walking the Worthy Walk: Called to be One. Ephesians 4:1-6.
Walking the Worthy Walk: Called to Ministry (Ministering with a Purpose) Ephesians 4:7-16
Walking the Worthy Walk: Called to be Blameless Ephesians 4:17-32
Waking Up to Sonship Ephesians 5:1-14
Being Filled with the Spirit Ephesians 5:15-21
Bringing it all Home Ephesians 5:21-6:9
Taking Our Stand Ephesians 6:10-20

Over the next several weeks, my son Graham and I will be teaching Ephesians at Highland Church of Christ, Abilene Texas.

GOD’S STANDING OVATION

Ephesians 1:3–14

Temples have been built to honor gods, monuments have been erected to remember the exploits of people, and every small town has some building, park, or statue named after one of its own. My university has buildings and classrooms, endowments and chairs, all named after benefactors. We read about these benefactors on websites, certificates, plaques, and promotional literature. Athletic stadiums change their names due to corporate benefactors. We all have seen this.

More importantly, let us remember the Bible schoolteacher who steadfastly taught on Wednesday nights for the better part of 35 years.  She taught both mothers and now daughters of many in the congregation.  She taught them about the love of Jesus, the discipleship of Peter, the missionary activity of Paul.  She let the faith of Abraham and the patience of Job flow out of her own life to touch every child who crossed the threshold of her classroom.  Although her name will not be recorded in annals of history and no monuments will be erected in her name, the ten-dollar silver tray given to her by three generations of students extolling her graces will be cherished everyday by one of God’s dearests and best.  As a culture, we reserve the standing ovation for such lives and such performances. The Bible schoolteachers of our lives are our benefactors.

Discussion Question: Who are your benefactors?

But the greatest benefactor of all, worthy of all praise and honor, is God, Yahweh, Adonai, El Shaddai.  “Blessed is God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenlies with all spiritual blessings in Christ.”  Let us behold what God has done for us. Ephesians 1:3–14, in three stanzas organized in a trinitarian way, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is our benefactor.

All this God did to the praise of God’s glory. God deserves a standing ovation. We could spend days extolling God’s virtues as we count the blessings one by one.

Paul has a list of how God has blessed us. God chooses us. God predestines us. God redeems us. God makes known to us. And God seals us. Next week I will explore each of these blessing in more detail. Stay tuned!