Ephesians 1:1-14 – In Verses 3-6 you have the work of the
Father: Then, in Verses 7-12, you have that which relates to the Son: Finally,
in Verses 13 and 14, you have the work of the Holy Spirit:
Remember that these are all available to us
in the “heavenly realms” That is not heaven; it does not mean they are only
available in heaven when you die. No, "in the heavenly realms" is a
reference to the invisible realities of our life now. It reaches on into
eternity, yes, but it is something to be experienced now, in the inner life. He
is talking about our thought-life, our attitudes, our emotions, our inner life
where we live, where we feel conflict and pressure, struggle and disaster. He
calls them “spiritual blessings in
Christ”…What does that mean?
It is in these areas of our inner life that
we are exposed to the attack of the principalities and powers which are
mentioned in Chapter 6, those dark spirits in high places who get to us, and
depress us, and frighten us, and make us anxious or hostile or angry. It is the
realm of conflict, but it is also the realm where God can release us and
deliver us, and where the Spirit of God reaches us at the seat of our
intellect, our emotions and our will. It is the realm of those deep, surging
urges which rise within us and can create either restlessness or a sense of
peace, depending on the source from which they come. So don't read this as
though it were something out in heaven somewhere, someday. These blessings that
Paul gives us and which we will be looking more closely at, are ours in our
inner experience, now, if we are in Jesus Christ…This is the “package” that it
all comes in – “Christ”.
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