Welcome to our study of the letter to the Ephesians. It is our second lesson now and we have already seen in the last video in our introduction that the Letter to Ephesus opens or allows us an insight into the heart of God. That God, a part of the question of sin, delights to give. Delights, to bless. And that there is something that He purposed in Himself before the foundation of world, where there was no sin yet. There He had something in His heart, which He purpose in himself, that he wanted to gift to us even. We have a power in the will of God. That is what we will see also in our video today where we want to occupy ourselves with the third verse of the first chapter in the letter to the Ephesians. And there we read Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. There are certain elements that we need to talk about and we will just focus on this Bible verse because it will take all our time that have available. Now the first thing that I would like to speak about is this blessed be. Remember, the Apostle Paul is in prison somewhere in Rome. His conditions, his circumstances are not good. But now he is occupied with the counsel of God. He is occupying with thoughts and with will of the God and that leads him to praise God, to worship Him. And my friends, that is how it has to be. When we occupy ourselves with God and with the thoughts of God, when we move away from us and this world around us, it needs to lead us. That we worship God, that we realize what an awesome God we have to do with and that that desire to worship Him. That is what’s happening here. These verses that have verses 3-14 really is one long prayer. where the Apostle Paul allows us to listen to that prayer in three different verses and where we see how he praises God for what he has purposed in himself. Now in this prayer, Paul addresses the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the God and Father, that is first of all who He speaks about. It’s the one that we know not only as God or as Elohim or Jehovah, but we also know Him as Father. The one that has in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, in person the Son of God, revealed himself to us as God the Father. It is the lord Jesus who said to his disciples, who has seen me, has see the father. He has shown us the FATHER, God The Father, that is, the relationship that we now have towards God as our Father, that is all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because no one comes to the Father but through Him, but though the lord Jesus christ, the one, The Son of God who became man and died on Calvary’s cross. That was necessary. And He has opened that relationship to us as we will see in a bit, that we also know God not only as our God, but that God the Father, now as Our Father. Because that is what we now learn in the next verse. It is God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that needs to be explained maybe. First of all we see God And then we see Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you may say, hold on a second, the God of all Lord, Jesus? I thought God, that Jesus was God himself. So how is it possible that God hasn’t God? That doesn’t make sense. No, it really doesn’ make since because as God the son of God has no God above himself, but as man. As the man Jesus, He had a God above Himself. He prays to God twice, we read that in the Gospel. As a man, he took a place here on earth in dependency upon God. And as a man, he has a God above himself. But then, of course, we also learn it is the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, the relationship that he had to God as his father. comes before us. And there he does not stand before as the man Jesus, but as eternal Son of God. But then it also says here, and that is what we have already seen, of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, through the Lord, Jesus and there is something I said already, we’ve seen already that It is our God, and it is Our Father. Through Him, the Son, we now know God as our Father! And that reminds us, that is something that we see also on this resurrection morning in John chapter 20, where the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to Mary and says, Go to my brethren and tell them, I go to My God and your God. And so far that was nothing new. But now He adds something new to MY Father and YOUR Father, That is where this relationship that the Lord Jesus Christ always enjoyed is now opened to us. To us that is those who believe in the lord Jesus. Of course that we also can now say He is our God, but He’s also our Father. We know Him through the LORD Jesus as our father. we have been brought into this Relationship. The Lord jesus had this relationships always. But we, through the Lord Jesus, have been brought into this relationship. We know Him now as our God and Father. And then the Apostle Paul, he continues and he says, who, that is, of course, is still the God, and father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Who, now he has done something. It says here, has blessed us we my friends have been blessed that is amazing i mean if i think about my life the many sins that i have done the weaknesses i’ve shown the shortcomings how little i understand god how a little I am as a human being how insignificant insignificant when it comes in comparison to an almighty all-present Eternal God? Then there is a God and he thinks about me. He thinks of you who believe in the Lord Jesus. And how does he think about you? Well, in his heart there’s that purpose to bless us. Now, to give us good things. And you see, first of all, that needs to amaze us. That God blesses us, there’s something good that God, the Father, wants to give us because that’s what it means to bless us something, good He gives us and we might ask ourselves, why is that? And it leads us to the cross. It leads to us where the Lord Jesus Christ died and Mostly we are apt to say, He died for our sins and He was punished for all sins. And that is true. God needed to be satisfied when it came to the question of sins, but there on the cross something else happened and that speaks more to God. The Lord Jesus glorified God. I have glorify you on earth. The work that you have given to me I’ve accomplished. That is what the Lord says in John 17. All the divine attributes were displayed on the cross. Lord Christ revealed God the Father in life, but much more in death. There God was glorified to the highest, to utmost. And that is in such a way that as a result, God can now bless even man. The Lord Jesus Christ glorify Him. But since God is now glorifying and since He is satisfied when it comes to question of sin, He can bless us. And see, my friends, that is something where we need to ask yourself if there’s something that God wants to give us, That He delights in Himself to show us. Are we interested? Do we know the blessings that He wants us to have? do we appreciate them, do enjoy them? They are ours, but we have to possess them practically. Only then we can only enjoy them. And see, one important thing we need to see. It says, he has blessed us. Again, the perfect is used. I mean, something has happened in the past and it has remaining results. We often look to the future and we long to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven, in The House of the Father, We hear His words in John chapter 14, behold, I go to prepare you a place and if I to go prepare your place I come again to receive you unto myself that where I am you also shall be and that will happen. He will come to received us unto Himself and it will be wonderful and we are longing and may it be that we longing more and more for that moment where He takes us away out of this world to Himself. And where he will in the center of all our affections. But you see, there’s something that we can already enjoy today, in the present. We don’t have to wait to possess them, we possessed them already. He has blessed us. There are things, blessings that He had given to us already, We will not possess in heaven more than we posses them now. I have no doubt that will enjoy them more and fully than now.” but they are ours now to be enjoyed. That is the question I asked already. Do we enjoy them really? And then it says with every spiritual blessing. God delights to bless us. And it then says here with EVERY spiritual blessings. There is not one single blessing that God somewhere has in store still, which He hasn’t given us. No, He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. There’s none, there’s no blessing that is still outstanding. Again, that brings us to the cross and where we see how much the Lord Jesus Christ has glorified God. so much that He can bless us with every spiritual blessing. And then the next thing that we see is actually with Every Spiritual Blessing. These blessings that We have, they are spiritual in their character. They are not earthly. they’re not material. Yes, of course, there are blessings which are material and which is connected with this earth. We have certain material possessions and we take them from the hand of God and give thanks for them. And they are blessings, they’re not a curse, but a blessing. But they aren’t typical for us. They are not promised to us, I think, especially in the times that we are living, we need to emphasize this, that material wealth is not promise to, it’s not typical to. It is a sign of weak faith if we’re rich or if you’re healthy. They are devoted Christians who go through severe sickness and it’s not a punishment of God and is not result of their weak faith or whatever. God proves them and God glorifies Himself through their lives. But we are not promised wealth and health. despite what others may teach, we do not find any Bible verse in Scripture where we have promised these things. But what we are promised and what really belongs to us are those spiritual blessings, what we see here. They are promised to us and they belong to, us we possess them and there are ours to be enjoyed but they are spiritual. We cannot see them, we cannot grasp them but by faith we know them. And we enjoy them! And then there is a sphere where those blessings can be enjoyed, and that is the heavenly places or the heavenlies. In the Greek original, the word places is not really there. It’s just in the havenlies, That is the area where those blessings can be enjoyed. It is not earth, it is heaven where these blessings are enjoyed, you see? It’s always the desire of the Spirit of God to draw us heavenwards. In the future we will be in heaven, but even now The Spirit of God wants us to be occupied with what is eternal and with heavenly, where the Lord Jesus Christ is already, we are seated in Christ and where we also have our blessings. They are in their character, spiritual, and they are heavenlies, they’re in heaven. That’s where enjoy them. And then there’s one last thing that we see here also there in Christ. In Christ we possess them, in christ we enjoy them. That is a very typical expression for the letter to the Ephesians and we will find this over and over again. It is as though God has laid those blessings on the Lord Jesus, who has accomplished that work of Calvary, and we possess those blessing in Him, through Him by Him in him. And that is why those Blessings are safe and secure. They are ours in Christ. they cannot be taken away, safe, secure, This third Bible verse that we have seen here can be seen as the key that unlocks the door to us. And in the next Bible verses, verse four and five, and other Bible versus we, or the apostle Paul, then begins to unfold these blessings to use. But in this third by verse, we’ve seen where he introduces to us, to the one who has blessed us already with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, and that is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has bless us and he is one, who he praises. he says, blessed be the god and father and as we see what God delights to give us may it also be with us with you and me that that brings us to bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to praise Him, and to worship Him for who He is and what He has done. Thank you for joining us in this video and until the next one I say goodbye and God bless.