Ephesians Chapter 1- Truths to Tell Ourselves

Two common misconceptions about God are that he, 1-is a killjoy who doesn’t want us to have good things, 2- he wants us to be prosperous in this life. Both misconceptions can be problematic. If a person thinks God is some kind of stern old man withholding the goodies, who would want to come to God if that were true. If a person buys into the prosperity gospel, disappointment can set in when the realization sinks in that what is being taught doesn’t work for everyone.

We are sojourners in this life. We are not exempt from problems. We are, however, given beautiful promises. They are ours in the here and now, but we will not fully realize them until we are in heaven. As Hebrews 11 says:

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Even though what we long for is in the future, we can remind ourselves of truths, so we do not lose heart. Ephesians chapter 1 has many wonderful truths. If we remind ourselves of these truths, they are affirmations that are based on God and his power, not on ourselves. The difference is an affirmation based on God is eternally certain because God has all power and fleeting affirmations are based on temporary things that can fade away.

With that in mind, let’s look at the truths we can use for affirmations from Ephesians 1 starting with 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

A word to focus on here is- EVERY. God holds nothing back from us. He blesses us in the heavenly realms with EVERY spiritual blessing. He is not some stern old man holding back on us.

The blessings are for us now in this life. Jesus promised to always be with us in Matthew 28:

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

We can have fellowship with God now. We can experience his presence now. Yes, we will experience that fully in heaven, but his presence is for us in the here and now too. We can say to ourselves, “I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms” because it is based on God and can never be taken away.

Tomorrow we will look at another spiritual blessing from Ephesians 1.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.