Saint or Sinner Pt. II
Notes
Transcript
9 May 21
Eph. 1 - Saint or Sinner Pt. II
Please turn to Eph. 1. Last week I asked, “Are you a saint or sinner? Have you believed in and confessed that Jesus Christ exclusively is Lord?” We concluded that to be in Christ, to be in a relationship with Him, made possible through His blood is to be a saint - to be holy, set apart. Can a saint still sin? Yes, but a saint should not be a sinner (consistently, continuously). We’ll get there later in Ephesians.
We also mentioned that there are two sides to holiness or being a saint. One commentary put it this way -
“People are not ‘saints’ in this sense by personal merit; they are set apart by God, and in consequence they are called to live in holiness. Thus the word [saint] expresses at once the privilege and the responsibility of the calling of every Christian ….”
We said
The privilege side of “sainthood” is purely by the work of Christ.
It is through the cross, through His blood, His sacrifice, and our faith in Him that we are made saints.
The responsibility side of “sainthood” is the expectation of the saint to pursue holiness and moral purity.
So we're going to spend some time focused on the privilege side - what Christ has done for us - which is chapters 1-3.
And to start us off, I want to do something a little different this morning. I want to approach this first passage, verses 1-14 in more of a New Testament setting. Remember this is a letter, and so this morning I want to read this and interact with it like they might have done in the 1st Century. They didn’t have Bibles on their shelves. When they got a letter from one of the apostles, it would have generated some excitement. “Hurry up! Read it! What does it say!” I’m stepping away from my notes this morning and we’ll see what happens. Need you to engage.
Now before we do that, I do need to explain a few things.
First, verses 3-14 is not just mere doctrine - it’s a hymn or Psalm of sorts, or a litany of praise. In the oldest manuscripts - one long sentence.
Secondly, I need to explain some key words or phrases that might be a little unfamiliar to us that would have been familiar to them.
Blessed - eulogētōs
To speak well of - to bless God = praise
To bestow favor with an intended outcome (e.g. here’s $20)
In Christ - Covenant relationship
Heavenly places
Holy -
Set apart / exclusive relationship with God
Blameless - in God’s sight without fault (not perfect)
Redemption -
Predestination - may or may not happen
Predetermined - will happen
Listen to His voice. Pay attention to what we have in Christ.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.