Sermon Series: The Believer's Bank 

Welcome to the Bank! 

Ephesians 1:1-3 

PSBC 2/6/00 PM

In a nutshell: The blessings of the believer are incredible! But none of these blessings come from human effort. Rather all the blessings that belong to us, come from Jesus Christ, and are available for use as soon as we realize we have them.

I. Introduction

A. Joke

A city newspaper owner had three sons. He offered ownership of the newspaper to the son who could write the most sensational headline using only three words. The first son's headline was, "Clinton tells all." The second son concocted this: "Saddam Becomes Christian." But the third son wound up inheriting the paper when his headline was submitted. It had only two words..."Pope Elopes."

Many Christian people I know approach their spiritual inheritance in this way. They feel that they have to do something clever, or live up to a certain standard, or do something spiritually significant, or deprive themselves of something they want, or work really hard for God, in order to get some kind of blessing from God. Do you think that way?

You see, the fact is, all we have to do is to be in Christ to receive our spiritual inheritance or blessing from God. In fact, that's the overall theme of the first half of the book of Ephesians–realizing what is ours when we are in Christ.

B. Background

The book of Ephesians is what we call a "circular letter". In fact, in the earliest of manuscripts of this letter, written by the apostle Paul, the word Ephesians, or Ephesus, is no where to be found.

Now this shouldn't shake your faith, because the Ephesian Christians were part of the target audience that Paul had in mind when he wrote the letter.

(SHOW MAP) Ephesus was the largest city in Asia Minor, and one that Paul spent nearly three years pastoring. But the churches throughout Asia Minor were strongly connected, and usually faced the same problems, had the same concerns, and asked the same questions about their Christian faith. So, as near as we can tell, this letter was initially sent to Ephesus or maybe the city of Laodecia, but it made the rounds to about seven different churches in Asia Minor that are also mentioned in the apostle John's book that we call Revelation.

As we'll see as we study this book, Paul was a prisoner while he was writing Ephesians. He had been accused by the Jews in Jerusalem of advocating the overthrow of the Roman government and wanting to abolish the Jewish way of life. As was his right, as a Roman citizen, Paul had appealed his case to Caesar, who happened to be the Emperor Nero at this time. So, he was taken to Rome, and put under a "loose arrest" situation. By "loose arrest" I mean he could rent his own home, but he had to stay in the home, and different Roman soldiers took their turns to be chained to him 24 hours a day. However, he had the freedom to receive visitors, to freely talk, and to write letters.

So, that's the situation at the writing of this letter to the Ephesians. But why do I and many other preachers call this book of the Bible, the believer's bank?

C. Believer's Bank

Illustration: For many years, a woman by the name of Hetty Green was called America's greatest miser. When she died in 1916, she left an estate valued at $100 million. That's even a lot today, but think of it's value in 1916!

But Hetty Green was miserly. She was so miserly that she ate cold oatmeal in order to save the expense of heating water. When her son had a severe leg injury, she took so long trying to find a free clinic to treat him that his leg had to be amputated because of the advanced infection. It has been said that she brought on her own death by a stroke, because she was vehemently arguing with a neighbor about the merits of skim milk over whole milk, because skim milk was cheaper to buy.

Well, the book of Ephesians was written to Christians who might be tempted to treat their Christian life similar to the way Hetty Green treated her fortune–by never taking advantage of it. Paul didn't want the churches of Asia Minor, nor us who would study this letter 1939 years later, to suffer from spiritual malnutrition, because we haven't taken advantage of the great riches, inheritances and fullness that are ours because we are followers of Jesus Christ.

In a very real sense, the book of Ephesians is our personal pass book in God's Bank. In this letter we have the details of all the things that are in our spiritual bank account and that belong to us, because we have Jesus Christ as the forgiver of our sins and the leader of our life.

I like what John MacArthur says in his commentary on Ephesians, "No Christian, therefore, has reason to be spiritually deprived, undernourished, or impoverished. In fact, he has no reason not to be completely healthy and immeasurably rich in the things of God. Ephesians shows that the Lord's heavenly resources are more than adequate to cover all our past debts, all our present liabilities, and all our future needs–and still not reduce the heavenly assets. That is the marvel of God's gracious provision for His children."

So, with that introduction, let's look at the beginning verses this evening...

II. Salutation

Ephesians 1:1-2 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are three things that I want you to see from these first two verses...

A. Paul's Credentials

First of all, notice the credentials Paul presents... An apostle..., by the will of God.

The best definition of an apostle I've come across, is simply this, "a person who is an authorized spokesman, and is sent with a message." It's important to note that Paul didn't get his message from Peter, or James, or John, or any of the other disciples who had been with Jesus. He didn't get it from discussions with other learned men of the Christian faith, at that time. In the book of Galatians, Paul says...

Galatians 1:11-12 11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul received his apostolic message directly from Jesus Christ, Himself. The truth that Paul tells us is truth that he learned directly from Jesus Christ. And that is the basis of his authority.

Therefore, when you read this letter, written by the apostle Paul, you are reading a message by an authorized spokesman of the Lord Jesus.

I'm amazed at the audacity of some Christian people today, who will read a paragraph or chapter of something written by Paul and say something like, "I don't agree with Paul." That scares me. Paul is speaking as an apostle. And an apostle is an authorized spokesman. What he says is what he has heard. What he's heard came directly from Jesus Christ. So, if you don't agree with Paul, you don't agree with the Lord, either! We need to remember that when we come to some of the teachings we will be looking in this book in the weeks and months to come.

B. Saints

The second thing I want you to notice in these first two verses is what the recipients of the letter are called–because the title given here is not only for Ephesian Christians or Asia Minor Christians, but it's for Palm Springs Baptist Christians, as well.

We're described as saints. "To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:"

But instead of being excited by that title, I think the term "Saints" is one of those words that scares us. We have this kind of plaster image of what a saint is. We think of them as being unreal, or holier-than-thou, or Mother Theresa-types–a person who is not like an ordinary human being.

But saints in the New Testament aren't that way at all. Saints are like you and me! Saints are people who have struggles in their lives; saints are people who have difficulties they must overcome; saints are people whose children don't always behave; saints are people who have arguments in their marriages; saints are people who have problems at work; saints are tempted; saints sometimes give in to that temptation. In other words, saints are normal people–we're just different!

You see, the Greek word for saint has as it's root, the word for holy. And holy means distinct, or different. That's the mark of a true saint. It isn't that you don't have problems–it's that you just approach those problems differently. A saint handles all the situations of a normal life in a different way. We'll find out some of those different ways as we get into this book.

C. Grace and Peace

Then Paul gives his usual, but very meaningful greeting in verse 2...Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Don't gloss over those very "Christian" words. Grace and peace. They are two of our greatest heritages. These are two things that you can have, no matter what your circumstances.

1. Grace

Grace is all of God's power brought to bear on a specific situation in your life. Grace is a portion of who God is, applied directly to the problem or difficulty, or opportunity or circumstance you might be having or going through at any given time. Ray Stedman once told us in seminary, "Grace is a marvelous term which wraps up all that God is and offers it to us."

2. Peace

Peace, on the other hand is freedom. Freedom from anxiety, from worry, from fear, even when we can't see the solution to our problem. I like the poem by Edwin Markham...

At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky And flinging the clouds and the towers by, Is a place of central calm; So here in the roar of mortal things, I have a place where my spirit sings, In the hollow of God's palm.

Peace is resting in God's ability and His love for me, to care for me–even in the roar of mortal things.

D. Transition

Starting with verse three, the letter to the Ephesians follows the regular construction of most of the rest of Paul's letters. He starts with the doctrine points, the teaching points, and the radical facts about God that are foundational to living like saints. Then he speaks about the practice and application and the working out of points in the normal situations of life.

Another characteristic of Paul's letters is to gather his entire premise for writing the letter into one introductory statement, and then break it down into its details. So, Paul does this in verse three, and continues the same sentence all the way to verse 14 in the Greek text. But, verse 3 gives us the summary of the teachings of the letter...

III. Summary Verse 3

Ephesians 1:3 3 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.

There are four elements in this summary that I want you to see tonight.

A. Our Thinking Needs to Start With God

First, Paul starts with the One who is behind all these blessings– the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the starting point. When a person starts with God, that person stays in line with reality. When a person starts with the alternative, that is very inadequate. You see, the alternative is to start with self, and our experience. And our experience, is always, at the very best, just partial truth.

When we use ourselves and our experience as the standard of truth, we narrow the range of our vision, and limit what God wants to give us.

Illustration: Have you ever tried watching an entire football game through a pair of binoculars. It's a frustrating thing to do. Not only that, it's un-enjoyable because you're looking only through the lenses of the binoculars, and can only focus on one thing or one part of the game. So, you wind up missing everything else that's going on, down on the field, and all around you.

The great thinker and scientist, Sir Isaac Newton once commented on his great achievements, "I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself in now and then finding the smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

The only proper way to view truth is to do what Paul is doing in this introductory statement–seeing it in relationship to all truth, everywhere. And Paul acknowledges that there is only one way to do that, and that is to start with God. Only God is great enough to encompass all truth.

B. The Aim of God's Work–Blessing

The second thing I want you to see in this introductory statement is the word that's used twice–blessed or blessing. That's important because that's the aim of what God is trying to do when he opens up our spiritual bank account. God wants to bless us. In fact, God wants to overwhelm us with the magnitude of how big our spiritual bank account really is.

Just look at the things that Paul lists in this opening sentence that stretches all the way to verse 14. We'll be looking at these more closely in the weeks to come. But for right now, just think about them for a few moments...

Eph. 1:4 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

That's the first one–His love for us goes back to before the beginning of time. The second one...

Eph. 1:5 5 In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–

Incredible. Because God decided on spiritual adoption, not spiritual abortion, we have become members of His family. Look at number three...

Eph. 1:7 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace

Think of that! Our guilt for our past sins is completely and utterly removed. It's gone forever. God will never bring it up again The fourth one...

Eph. 1:9 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,

We have been taken into confidence by God. He is revealing cosmic secrets to us. He details out for us what He plans to do and what he intends to accomplish in the future. He lets us in on some of the details. Then look at the fifth one...

Eph. 1:11-12 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, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

We will never be unemployed. We have been given a heavenly job. God has appointed us to be a demonstration–something similar to those people who demonstrate products and give out food samples at Sam's Club or Costco. We get to give out samples of a relationship with God to people who don't yet know Him, and in God's estimation, this will bring glory to Him. Look at the sixth...

Eph.1:13a 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

If you're tired of hearing lies and spins on the truth from your leaders, you're in luck. Part of the proceeds in your spiritual bank account is that you have truth, and you can get truth whenever you seek it. Then finally...

Eph 1:13b-14 13b Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession– to the praise of his glory.

Take the binoculars off your face and look at the whole game. These are the truths that will set you free, and they are already deposited into your account, in your name, at your disposal, right now.

C. In Christ

The third thing I want you to see is that all these blessings are "in Christ". This fact is going to be stressed over and over again. No phrase appears more in this letter than the words "In Christ" or "in Him". That's because all these blessings come through the conduit of a relationship with Jesus–there is no other way to receive them.

There are a lot of religious groups that try and bypass this crucial fact. Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, the Moonies, Scientology, Muslims, New Age groups, all have one thing in common. They claim to provide the spiritual blessings that are listed in the Bible, without going through Jesus Christ. They all claim to go directly to God and bypass Jesus. But those claims are nothing more than fraud and fakery. Because Jesus said...

John 14:6 6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The spiritual blessings that the Father puts into our spiritual bank account, don't come in any other way, except through Jesus.

D. In the Heavenly Realms

The last thing I want you to notice in verse three is where all this occurs. It's in "the heavenly realms." Paul's not talking about heaven, as we usually think about it, with pearly gates and streets of gold. In this book and in other places in the Bible, where it talks about the "heavenlies" or "the heavenly realms" its talking about the realm of invisible reality. Things that are true about life in the world and in the universe, but which we can't see or touch right now. But that doesn't make them any less real.

I read a story for you at the beginning of the service from 2 Kings 6, that illustrates this. The prophet Elisha is surrounded by an enemy garrison, ready to capture him. And he's not phased by it. But his servant is going ballistic. In order to help his servant's faith, Elisha prays and asks God to part the cosmic curtain and give his servant a peek into "the heavenly realms". There the servant sees a vast host of heaven in chariots of fire, ready to protect Elisha from harm. By parting the curtain, God showed the servant the reality of what was taking place in the heavenly realms, even though he couldn't see it at the time.

We're not going to get into it tonight, but understand this regarding the heavenly realms. This is where life is changed. This is where your character is developed. This is where the victories over the seen realities of anxiety and discouragement and problems start to take place. We'll get into this more at a later time, but let it suffice to say, this is the area of life where spiritual blessings most often come to bear. And our study of Ephesians will help us pull back the curtain and see what's really going on.

IV. Conclusion

A. Illustration

What would life be like for you if you opened a new checking account at Wells Fargo Bank, and someone from the bank made an anonymous deposit of 1 billion dollars to that account, and didn't tell you? Just think, a billion dollars, and you'd never be able to draw on any of it because you didn't know you had it. You were rich beyond belief, and you didn't know it. What a tragedy!

But when the bank statement comes to your house and you see the balance you thought you had, but with a whole lot of zeros behind it, then, of course, you'd have immediate access to what was yours already.

Friends, that's the book of Ephesians. You won't learn of anything in this study that wasn't yours already. It's just a matter of finding out what you already have, and start drawing upon it.

That's the beauty of Ephesians. It is the spiritual bank statement of what you have, because you are a person who is "in Christ".

(Encourage to read the book in other translations, several times over, to prepare for this study.)

Amen.