We are still mining nuggets from -

Ephesians 1:3-14; “In love he predestined us for adoption to son-ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” 

Here are some other related scriptures;

Romans 8:29

"For those God foreknew- (which is all of us) - he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

Romans 8:30

"And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."

Ephesians 1:11

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,"

Psalm 33:12

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance."

    These verses tell us that we were not only chosen before the creation, but we were also “predestined” to be “conformed to the image of His Son,” and to be “adopted to sonship” through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will…” This is not to say that we then have no say in the process, or that some are “predestined” to die in their sins, because “free will” is also part of God’s plan. We have the free will to accept or reject the will, plan, and purpose of God. However, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Romans 8:17- “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”… who loved us and said “You did not choose me, but I chose you” add to this 8:39 “there is nothing in all of creation that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.”

    I have had the privilege of being a part of an adoption involving a family in one of my churches, and these were my words (an analogy of scripture);

“In His great foreknowledge and love, I believe God predestined for Katelyn and Joe to be adopted by Jennie and Tom, in accordance with His good pleasure and will.  So, Now, from this moment on, in accordance with the State of Virginia and God himself, _____ and _____ are children and heirs of _______ and ______. Just as Jesus said that we did not choose him but he chose us, these children did not choose _____ and ____ as parents, but _____ and ____ chose them…and they have become a family. Because they are now a family, there shall be nothing in all of creation that can separate their love for one another nor God’s love for each of them, in Christ Jesus, Amen.”

    If you are a born again Christian, you have been adopted into God’s family; my question then is; Are you enjoying your inheritance? Do you realize that you are truly blessed because you are a child of El Elyon… the Most High God! No matter what your circumstances, you can determine to have peace, joy, and love because you are chosen, and predestined to be His before the creation of the world! WOW! This is amazing! You are Blessed!

First the scripture Eph. 1:3-14; 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

    Paul begins by giving praise to God the Father who “has blessed us”,,, Now, we tend to think of this in the past tense, and that is true, but we need to jump ahead a bit to the words “in Christ”, In other words, these things are spiritual blessings – “in the heavenly realms” – that are given to all who come to know Christ and have been born again, and are now “in Christ”. It says we have been given “every” or “all” spiritual blessings in Christ. We were blessed with everything we need to be content, to be successful, to be obedient, to be useful in the Kingdom, and to be happy in Jesus! Regardless of our circumstances.

    However, this is possible because these blessings are spiritual in nature, and they are continuous in nature; therefore, I have been blessed in Christ Jesus; I am blessed in Christ Jesus; I will continue to be blessed and will always be blessed in Christ Jesus; because these cannot be lost like physical or material blessings that fade and rot, and can be here today and gone tomorrow.

    With all this in mind, it will help us to learn what these spiritual blessings are.

First, let’s look at the foreknowledge of God. “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world.”… He “predestined us for adoption”… When it says “us” He is talking about all mankind; every nation and tongue; every color; every man woman and child! I can only imagine God at creation…

Day 1 – “Let there be light!” Oh, that was good! Let’s see, I’ll call the light “day” and the darkness “night”. I just can’t wait until day 6!”

Day 2 – “I must separate the waters, the top will be “sky” and the bottom “sea.”         

Day 3 – “Now I’ll separate the sea with dry land so man will have a place to live. This is so exciting!” “Wait till he sees the mountains and the valleys and the beauty of the continents!”  “Plants, trees, watermelon, figs, oh my!”

Day 4 – “Stars! Sun! Moon! Planets! The universe! It takes my breath away!”

Day 5 – “Let’s see, aha…creatures of the sea: Whales, Dolphin, Sea Urchin – (ouch!) Puffer fish…Ha, Ha, this is fun! Birds of the air…so many kinds and colors, I love it, and so will he!”

Day 6 – “Today’s the day! I can hardly control myself! I had better warm up a little… Lions, tigers and bears, oh my! Cattle, sheep, and goats…um

Pigmy goats! The kids will love em! How about a camel? One hump or two? How about both! This is all wonderful!”

    Then God said, “Now, the time has come, let’s make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over all that has been created! So God created them male and female – “God BLESSED them and said ‘be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and rule over it.” “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.”

    Before the creation of the world, God was thinking about mankind, and we were chosen…all of us…He chose us to be His, to be holy and blameless in His sight…He chose you!... Have you chosen Him?

“Blessed”

    I have often said that the Word of God is like a gold mine; if you want the gold, you have to dig for it…Proverbs 2:3-5 says -

³“if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver 
    and find the knowledge of God.”

Well, I have found myself prayerfully looking for insight and wisdom and the knowledge of God, as I begin to study what it means to be “Blessed”. Webster defines “blessed” as, “of or enjoying happiness. Specifically enjoying the bliss of heaven”…It carries the idea of “that which brings pleasure, contentment, or good fortune.” It is that state of being we all desire! Who does not want to be blessed? But, when it comes down to it, we often view “blessings” in the wrong light. We think of blessings as physical and material in nature. If we have good health, we are blessed; if we have a good job and there is money in the bank, we are blessed; if we have a nice home and a nice car, we are blessed; and I truly believe these things are blessings, But, what happens when we get sick? Did we cease to be blessed? What about when we drive junk cars and the house is falling apart? Did we lose the blessings of God? What happens when we lose the job and there is no money and we can’t pay the bills? Did the Lord stop blessing us? What we fail to remember is that these (physical and material) blessings are temporary at best. The car will rust, wear out and die one day; the money will be spent; the home will decay; and as we age, our health will decline. That’s the problem with depending on and putting our faith in and shinning the light on material and physical things. We need to know the real blessings in life, the true blessings of God, are not these but spiritual blessings that can never be taken away!

Therefore, let me offer what it really means to be blessed, according to God’s Word.

Let’s begin with Ephesians 1:3-14

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Next week we will begin to mine some nuggets out of this scripture.