Ephesians 1.7-10 (7)
Pray Psalm 103.1-4.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies…
Sing Psalm 103.1-4.
(Old 100th: All Creatures That on Earth Do Dwell)
O my soul, bless the LORD’s great Name! His many benefits proclaim:
He pardons sins and heals disease, and from the pit grants us release.
Read Ephesians 1.1-10; meditate on verses 7-10.
How many ways is Jesus referred to in these four verses? Meditate on all these taken together.
Preparation
1. Where does this passage begin, that is, with what focus?
2. For what are all these blessings intended?
Meditation
The ancient promises to Abraham made it clear that God would do a good thing for a chosen people so that they, in turn, could be a source of good for the world (Gen. 12.1-3). This idea pervades the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis 1 and 2. God made and blessed Adam and Eve so that, as they bore children and worked faithfully as stewards of the garden, all the earth would know the goodness of the Lord (Gen. 1.31).
God promised His people, posed on the plain in Moab, that by keeping His Law they would know the blessings of His covenant and draw the nations to themselves (cf. Deut. 28.1-14; 4.5-8). David saw the goodness of God in the unfolding of Solomon’s kingdom (Ps. 72; cf. 1 Kgs. 10). And even in their time of captivity, the people were encouraged to believe that they could be a channel of grace to the world (cf. Jer. 29.5-14).
A people blessed to be a blessing to the world: That has always been God’s plan. But the prophets God used to compose the Old Testament understood that, on the terms and by the means Israel had come to trust, the promises of God would always elude them. They needed a fresh anointing of God. They needed a Messiah to ratchet their lives and visions to a loftier plane. And they needed His Spirit to come and dwell in them, that they might hunger for His Word and thirst for righteousness.
The blessings of election, predestination, adoption, acceptance, and forgiveness—mysteries all—are the soul-cleansing and soul-transforming down payment of God, borne by His Spirit, to enable us who believe in Jesus to receive and fulfill our ancient calling. We are unbelievably blessed by God; let us not fail to bless our world with the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
The Good News of Christ and His Kingdom is this:
He redeemed us through His blood.
Through His blood He made the forgiveness of our sins possible.
The fulfillment of this possibility made known to us the eternal mystery of grace.
And the culmination, and reveal of this mystery, being His people gathered together by Him upon His return.
Upon His return and our gathering we will be transported into the new heavens and the new earth.
Within the new heavens and the new earth, we will live eternally with God praising, loving, and adoring Him.
All this Good News being true causes us to say:
“Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ…” (Eph. 1.3).
“The Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1.3)
planned from the beginning this redemption story.
His Word is full of already fulfilled promises;
and we trust Him, as we wait for the finale.
While we wait, we have been given work to do.
This work is to obediently follow His Law,
be gratefully filled with His Holy Spirit,
lovingly and vigorously follow Jesus,
and carefully and consistently share this Good News with those in our Personal Mission Field.
Long and short version.
That’s it.
And we work this out
through the variety of circumstances and challenges
of our individual lives.
“In Him” (Eph. 1.10).
“LORD, I hope for Your salvation,
and I do Your commandments” (Ps. 119.166).
“Blessed to be a blessing.”
Reflection
1. How should the promises of God lead us in our daily lives? Which promises?
2. Are you beginning to thank God more regularly for His spiritual blessings?
3. Whom will you encourage today in the spiritual blessings of the Lord?
The apostle feels himself unable to celebrate, in a proper manner, the goodness of God, and desires that the contemplation of it would occupy the minds of men till they are entirely lost in admiration. How desirable is it that men were deeply impressed with “the riches of that grace” which is here commended! John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Ephesians 1.7-10
Pray Psalm 103.19-22.
Meditate prayerfully on the spiritual blessings God has given you. As He leads or prompts, give Him specific thanks and praise.
Sing Psalm 103.19-22.
(Old 100th: All Creatures That on Earth Do Dwell)
He rules upon His throne in heav’n; His sovereign rule o’er all is giv’n.
You angels, bless the LORD, rejoice, who live in strength to heed His voice.
All you who serve Him, bless the LORD, all you who heed His righteous Word!
Let all throughout the cosmos whole unite to praise Him, with my soul!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we begin looking at commerce from a Kingdom perspective. Our Read Moore podcast continues readings from the book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds the saint beginning his second voyage to find The Promised Land of the Saints. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
