Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Ephesians 1:3-14
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  July 15, 2018

He’d had his eye this on this grill for a while. It had 4 burners and 620 square inches of grilling surface. The infrared side burner was coated with porcelain and the ignition start was infinite. He was a developing grill master and he deserved the very best. This grill was going to change his life. So after weeks of comparing models and talking it over with his wife he decided to make the purchase. Three days later it was on his deck. He bought some meat and started grilling. And boy, did he grill. Brats, steak, BBQ chicken. No meat in the house was safe. That first week his family couldn’t so much drink a glass of milk without grill marks on it. He cherished that grill; it was just what he wanted. But as the days went by the initial rush of excitement began to fade. The once amazing new grill became just the new normal.

Another word for it is Hedonic Adaptation: the observed tendency of people to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events and life changes. The theory behind it goes that as a person makes more money or gets a new thing expectations and desires rise as well. The end result is no long-lasting gain in happiness. Ok, so for you, it’s probably not a grill you’re thinking about. At the moment you think a new car, a relationship, a bigger house, or a 10k pay raise will be the very last thing you need in order to be happy. But you’ve been here before and if you’re honest with yourself you know it’s not the real answer. The solution is something called contentment. And that’s what we are going to talk about in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Today we are starting an eight-week sermon series on the book of Ephesians called, “Gospel Unity.” Through this inspired letter, we are going to see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ unites us as believers. The very first thing that we find in chapter 1 is that “in Christ” we all have been adopted into God’s family, we have been united in blessing and belonging. This provides for the basis for unity: each one of us can be content in Christ.

Ephesians is sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Epistles.” It is one of the most joyous and thankful parts of the Bible, which is especially interesting considering how it was composed. This letter was written by the apostle Paul during his Roman imprisonment. The tone of this letter does not match the man’s experience who wrote it. For the sake of Christ he had already been mocked, whipped, beaten to the point of death, and now he sits under the close watch of his Roman captors with empty hands and no human hope or future in sight. And yet the letter he decides to write to the congregation in Ephesus is simply packed with evidence to the contrary. You see, oddly enough Paul wasn’t just content, he is overflowing in thankfulness.

He begins in verse 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.” This is verse is really a summary of our text today. Firstly, “Praise be to God” because everything in these verses takes place to praise God’s and glorify him. Next, “who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing” because he has given us every spiritual blessing, and finally the part we cannot miss, all this happens “in Christ.” In Christ, only in Christ, God is praised and we are given every spiritual blessing.

Just for a moment glance over the whole section of verses, 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.4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 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 put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

In Greek, this great doxology is actually one single sentence, over 200 words long. In fact, this is the longest single sentence in the entire New Testament. Now, I know what many of you are thinking, “The apostle Paul never learned about run-on sentences.” Not quite, Greek lets you string as many clauses together as you want. But what can we take from this, besides a little bit of obscure Bible trivia? Well, this is all one giant thought. It’s all connected and conveying a single wondrous thought: There is unlimited blessing, true contentment, “in Christ.” Those last two words are the most important. It is only “in Christ” that any of this happens.

Just look at how many times Paul writes, “in Christ” or an equivalent phrase in this section:

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.4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 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 put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

That’s 12 “in Christ” phrases in as many verses! Why does Paul repeat this phrase 12 times here in this large, yet single thought? Remember paper wasn’t cheap back then and the Holy Spirit doesn’t waste words. The only reason Paul would repeat this is because of its importance and also, perhaps, because it’s so easy to forget. We look for contentment in a lot of different places, but usually not “in Christ.”

I think we actually end of looking for contentment in imaginary places. There are two imaginary places we often go and the first one is what I’ll call the land of “what if”. My sister told me about her friend with a brand-new baby who wrestled with a work decision. It was a promotion that would be great for her career but would require a lot of travel. She turned down the position, but she spent the next few months haunted by the probable possibility that she’d never receive an opportunity like that again. She lost her contentment because she was lost in that imaginary place of “what if”. How often do  we all go there? What if…I would have picked a different major? What if… we would have been able to work things out in that relationship? What if… I made a better decision that night? What if…I had married someone else? What if.. I would have raised my child differently? What if… I were prettier? What if…What if…What if…etc. So often we fall into this unsatisfying daydream, posing a question that will never be answered, and it leaves us discontent.

The second imaginary place is the land of “not yet”. It sounds something like this: “It’s is just not the right time for that blessing right now, be patient, it will come but not yet. You’ll just have to wait and try to make the best of where you’re at now.” What “not yets” are you holding onto before you’re happy? “I’ll be content when I’m making more money but not yet because things are really tight right now. I’ll be content when I’m in a relationship, but not yet, because I’m lonely. I’ll be content when things slow down at work, but not yet because I am so stressed out. I’ll be content when my kids are older but not yet, because they suck up so much of my time and energy! Someday, but “not yet”. You can already see why this is a bad place to find contentment. It avoids the problem of discontent and simply pushes away joy and happiness onto some future condition that may never come. Even if we did finally get the thing we want, good old hedonic adaptation would soon leave us wishing for something more. But the sobering truth is that “not yet” often turns into “not ever”. Can you imagine someone coming into the Apostle Paul’s prison cell and saying to him, “You’ll get out eventually! Just wait, not yet, but someday!” . . . Paul died in Rome. He never got out.

“What if” and “not yet” are not the places to find contentment. Life doesn’t come with a replay button and if we wait for things to be just right, we’ll always be waiting. It may sound odd but we need to confront ourselves. We need to address those fears of “what if” or those hopes for “not-yet” because they are a sign that our desires and goals are often misplaced on some earthly situation, instead of on our loving God. If we don’t recognize that these feelings are a product of our sinful nature, then we will continue to worship the subtle idols of earthly success and conditional happiness. You might be surprised to hear discontent compared to idolatry, but that’s what it boils down to. As God said in Jeremiah, “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”  (Jeremiah 2:13) There is only one who can quench our thirst, only one place that we can find true contentment.

Paul said it over and over again: “in Christ.” That is the only place to find contentment. What does it mean to be “in Christ”? It means to trust that Jesus, in and of himself, is all you need to be truly and eternally satisfied. It means to know that the Savior of the world, God-in-the-flesh, Jesus Christ truly loves you and laid down his life for you. It means that you hold onto his righteousness and not your own before God. It means that you run your fingers through the pure white robe he has wrapped you in and revel in the reality that you are God’s own dearly won possession. It means that you point to Jesus’ blood and know that you are forgiven and welcome in his name. To be “in Christ” means that you know that no matter what happens on this earth, you have a treasure trove of eternal blessings which will never perish, spoil, or fade.

Just look at some of the amazing blessings we have “in Christ.” We see that we are “chosen,” “loved,” “holy and blameless” in God’s sight, we are “adopted.” We have “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” We have “salvation”! We have insight into the mystery of God’s will, we can understand God’s Word and his purpose for our lives. And we have the Holy Spirit’s power to mark us as inheritor’s of God’s grace. The Spirit which brings us together this morning in worship is a down payment, a guarantee of the blessings which are yours “in Christ”.

My friends, if you are struggling with discontentment; if you often find yourself complaining about your house or your job or your spouse; if you’ve been in the habit of bringing other down or saying to yourself, “What if” or “not yet”, I urge you to look at the eternal and endless blessings you have “in Christ”. Fill yourself up with the reality of God’s love and let all discontentment melt away. In poverty or prosperity, whether you are single, married, or divorced, busy or bored, young or old, be content “in Christ.”

Amen.