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Believers’ Benefits

Posted on 03 Mar 2019, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: Believers’ Benefits

Text: Eph. 1:3-14

[Eph 1:3] 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,

[Eph 1:4] just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

[Eph 1:5] having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

[Eph 1:6] to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

[Eph 1:7] In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

[Eph 1:8] which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

[Eph 1:9] having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

[Eph 1:10] that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

[Eph 1:11] In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

[Eph 1:12] that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

[Eph 1:13] In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

[Eph 1:14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Introduction

Brethren, when we came to Jesus, we came as dirty sinners.
Out of grace and mercy, Jesus forgave us and accepted us as one of His own
We were saved through grace, not by any ounce of work that we did
However, as if being saved by grace is not enough, the Lord also provided additional benefits for us
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a start. The benefits demonstrate just how much we are loved by the Lord
In Christ Jesus, we have:
- Spiritual Blessings
- Righteousness and Holiness
- Became sons of God
- Redemption through His blood
- The gathering of the saints
- Sealed with the Holy Spirit
We are going to be addressing each of these benefits so we have a better understanding of what we have in Christ Jesus

Main Topic

1. Spiritual Blessings

[Eph 1:3] 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,
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ
Every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, not some, every single spiritual blessing has been released to us
Spiritual blessings are not like physical blessings that a person may give you
You may not be able to touch it, taste it, smell it, in the physical sense
However, you are able to know on the inside that indeed God has blessed you

1.1 We have the assurance of our salvation – Eph. 2:8-10

[Eph 2:8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [Eph 2:9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [Eph 2:10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
You did not do anything to be saved, except to have faith that Jesus Christ laid down His life for you
Even that faith that you needed to be saved was provided by the Lord, it did not come from you
The only thing that came from you is the willingness to use that faith that God gave you to confess with your mouth
Rom. 10:8-10
- [Rom 10:8] But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
- [Rom 10:9] that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
- [Rom 10:10] For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The believing in your heart was given to you by the Lord
The confessing with your mouth is your own part to play.
If you believe in your heart but did not confess with your mouth, that is only half the job
When you open your mouth and confess that Jesus is the Lord of your life, you have opened your life unto Him
By doing both of these, we have the assurance of salvation – that no matter what we are saved
When the enemy wants to ask, are you really saved? Trying to put doubt in your heart, you must remind the devil, I believe in my heart, and I confessed with my mouth the Lord Jesus, therefore I am saved.
The assurance of our salvation is a spiritual blessing.

1.2 We have access to the Fruit of the Spirit – Gal. 5: 16-26

[Gal 5:16] I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [Gal 5:17] For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. [Gal 5:18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [Gal 5:19] Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [Gal 5:20] idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [Gal 5:21] envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[Gal 5:22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [Gal 5:23] gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [Gal 5:24] And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [Gal 5:25] If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. [Gal 5:26] Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
The Bible teaches us that the flesh is against the Spirit and the Spirit is against the flesh
Therefore, we have this war going on in our mind.
There are things that the flesh wants to do that the Spirit will push you against
There are things that the Spirit wants to do that the flesh will push you against
How do you win this war? It depends on who you feed.
The one you feed will grow. The one you starve will die.
Apostle Paul said [1Co 15:31] I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
“I die daily” – every morning, he kills the flesh by denying the flesh of all its lustful request so that the Spirit can grow
You must equally kill the flesh, otherwise, the flesh will become king and rule your spirit
Your spirit is supposed to dominate the flesh
According to Gal. 5:24, we are to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires
If we fail to crucify the flesh, the works of the flesh will manifest:
- Adultery – When a married individual is fooling around with someone he/she is not married to
- Fornication – When an unmarried individual is fooling around with anyone.
- Uncleaness – Defiled, foul, unfit, spiritual impurity. From foul mouthed individuals to demonic possessions.
- Lewdness – preoccupation with sex and sexual desire. It is revealed in how people dress. Dressing sexy is lewdness
- Idolatry – This is huge, but can be summarized as putting anything before God as number 1 in your life.
- Sorcery – The use of any form magic – white magic, black magic
- Hatred – Strong dislike or ill will toward another person
- Contentions – struggling together in opposition; strife. a striving in rivalry; competition; contest. strife in debate; dispute; controversy.
- Jealousies – to be resentfully envious
- Outbursts of wrath – violent, rage, stemming from anger
- Selfish ambitions – when the motivation to do things stemmed from what you stand to gain
- Dissensions – Disagreement that leads to discord
- Heresies – beliefs or opinion contrary to the Word of God
- Envy – a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions or qualities
- Murders – a killer
- Drunkenness – the state of being intoxicated
- Revelries – wild fun times. The word stems from rebel.
- The like – anything similar to the above that is not explicitly mentioned.
[Gal 5:21] ….. that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

To be continued…..

How do you feed the Spirit so that the Spirit can grow:

Study to show yourself approved

Desire the sincere milk of the word

Conclusion

According to Eph. 1, there are many benefits that the Lord has blessed us with.
Spiritual blessings is one of them. Included in the spiritual blessings are:
- The assurance of salvation
- Access to the fruit of the Spirit – staying away from the works of the flesh.
- Unity and Oneness
- Answered Prayers
We will continue next week by God’s grace.

Sermon

Believers’ Benefits