Seven spiritual blessings with a focus on the blessing of grace

Ephesians 1:6-7 (NCV)

….and it brings praise to God because of His wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely, in Christ, the One He loves. In Christ we are set free by the blood of His death, and so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich is God's grace. 

Ephesians 1:3-13 contains the seven spiritual blessings from God.  Can you name them without looking?  OK, look them up.  Are His spiritual blessings obvious to you?  Do you understand and appreciate each blessing?

1.   He chose us in Christ before the world began—verses 3-4

2.   He predestined us to adoption as His sons in Christ—verse 5

3.   He freely bestowed His grace upon us—verse 6

4.   He redeemed us through the blood of Christ—verse 7

5.   He made known to us the mystery of His will—verses 8-10

6.   He gave us an inheritance in Christ, someday to share His glory—verses 11-12

7.   He has sealed us in Christ through the Holy Spirit—verse 13

These are a wealth of blessings that Christians have already received and been blessed with by God; yet most Christians either don’t know, don’t understand, and/or don’t appreciate these blessings.  However, it seems that as people reach life stations where you have to endure serious problems, especially your own or a loved one loss or threat of loss of health, or are reaching near the end of your life, verses like these become much more important and tend to capture your attention.

A special focus on the grace blessing.  Grace is connected with two fundamental and eternal principles—

1.   God must punish sin (Rom 6:23) because He inherently hates it.  God cannot overlook sin.  It is part of His divine nature that sin cannot be accepted.  Because God is holy and perfect, sin must be punished.

2.   All humans are sinners (Rom 3:23)

So, how is grace connected here?  Grace allows these two truths to be reconciled.  As Ephesians 1:6 says, God’s grace via the life and death of Jesus Christ, connected sinful man with holy and almighty God. 

“Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace; and your best days are never so good that you’re beyond the need for God’s grace” (quote by Jerry Bridges).  Do you agree?  If so, how can you show more gratitude to God for giving you His grace?