Title: Blessing upon Blessing

Text: Ephesians 1:3-14

Theme: The Blessedness of our Salvation through our Unity in Christ
Mga Pagpapalang Espirituwal sa Pamamagitan ni Cristo
v3Magpasalamat tayo sa Diyos at Ama ng ating Panginoong Jesu-Cristo! Pinagkalooban niya tayo ng lahat
ng pagpapalang espirituwal dahil sa ating pakikipag-isa kay Cristo. v4At sa atin ngang pakikipag-isang ito,
hinirang na niya tayo bago pa nilikha ang sanlibutan upang maging banal at walang kapintasan sa harapan niya.
Dahil sa pag-ibig ng Diyos, v5tayo'y kanyang itinalaga upang maging mga anak niya sa pamamagitan ni Jesu-
Cristo. Iyan ang kanyang layunin at kalooban. v6Purihin natin siya dahil sa kanyang kahanga-hangang
pagkalinga sa atin sa pamamagitan ng kanyang minamahal na Anak!
v7Tinubos tayo ni Cristo sa pamamagitan ng kanyang kamatayan at sa gayo'y pinatawad na ang ating mga
kasalanan. Gayon kadakila ang pag-ibig v8na ipinadama niya sa atin! Binigyan niya tayo ng karunungan at
kabatiran v9upang lubos nating maunawaan ang kanyang lihim na panukala na isasakatuparan sa pamamagitan
ni Cristo v10pagdating ng takdang panahon. Ang panukalang ito ay pag-isahin kay Cristo ang lahat ng nasa
langit at nasa lupa.
v11At dahil kay Cristo, kami'y naging bayan ng Diyos na nagsagawa ng lahat ng bagay ayon sa kanyang
panukala at kalooban. Nangyari ito nang kami'y hirangin niya noon pang una--- v12kaming mga unang umasa
kay Cristo---sa lalong ikadadakila niya.
v13Kayo ma'y naging bayan ng Diyos nang kayo'y manalig sa kanya matapos ninyong marinig ang salita ng
katotohanan---ang Mabuting Balita na nagdudulot ng kaligtasan. Kaya't ipinagkaloob sa inyo ang Espiritu
Santong ipinangako ng Diyos bilang tatak ng pagkahirang sa inyo. v14Ang Espiritu ang katibayan ng mga
pangako ng Diyos sa ating mga hinirang hanggang kamtan natin ang lubos na kaligtasan. Purihin natin ang
kanyang kadakilaan!

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the
purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according
to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things
in heaven and things on earth. 11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to
the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to
hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.  13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Introduction
Kaugalian at Tradisyon ng Kasal ng mga Pilipino
1. Pamamanhikan- isang okasyon kung saan ang pamilya ng lalaki o nobyo ay pupunta sa bahay ng babae
o nobya para pormal ng “hingin ang kamay ng dalaga”
2. Sayawan
3. Sabitan ng Pera o Money Dance
4. Naghahagis ng bigas for prosperity at fertility sa mag-asawa pagkatapos ng kasal.
5. Mga Pamahiin
a. Bawal isukat ng bride ang trahe de boda dahil bad luck daw at baka di ito matuloy ang kasal. 
b. Bawal ikasal ang magkapatid na sukob sa taon.
c. Ang bridesmaid na makakasalo ng bouquet ay ang susunod na ikakasal.
Transition: Ano ba ang aim nila? Magandang pag-sasama ng mag-asawa.
Genesis 2:24

v24Ito ang dahilan kaya iniiwan ng lalaki ang kanyang ama at ina upang sumama sa kanyang asawa, sapagkat
sila'y nagiging iisa.
Ngunit mayroon itong Spiritual na larawan…
Our Marriage with the Lamb…

Need: Understand the Importance of United with Christ in our Salvation

Text:
So Ano ba ang Unity with Christ?
 L. L. Legters “When a person begins to apprehend what it means to be united to the Son of God and
what he has through this union, he will at once realize that his spiritual growth depends upon a clear
understanding of truth rather than an experience.”
 Timothy W. Massaro “Union with Christ represents the sum of our salvation, fellowship, and
communion with Jesus.”
 James S. Stewart wrote that “union with Christ, rather than justification or election or eschatology, or
indeed any of the other great apostolic themes, is the real clue to an understanding of Paul’s thought and
experience” (A Man in Christ [Harper & Bros., 1955], vii).
 John Calvin said that union with Christ has “the highest degree of importance” if we are to understand
justification correctly (Institutes 1:737).
 John Murray wrote that “union with Christ is . . . the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. . . .
It is not simply a phase of the application of redemption; it underlies every aspect of redemption”
(Redemption—Accomplished and Applied [Eerdmans, 1955], pp. 201, 205).
 Lewis Smedes said that it was “at once the center and circumference of authentic human existence”
(Union with Christ [Eerdmans, 1983], xii).
 Anthony Hoekema wrote that “Once you have your eyes opened to this concept of union with Christ,
you will find it almost everywhere in the New Testament” (Saved by Grace [Eerdmans, 1989], 64.

All I’m doing is recovering the heart of what is best in the Reformed tradition. You can trace union with Christ
from John Owen to John Calvin, to Bernard, Augustine, Paul. In the Protestant evangelical tradition, we have
tended to focus on the work of Christ—even the mechanics of the work of Christ—apart from the person of
Christ. But when the work of Christ gets abstracted from the person of Christ, there’s no wonder that we get a
gap in our experience. Union with Christ is a better lens for looking at the gospel.

From the early days of creation, the goal that God had in mind was ever-deepening fellowship with his people.
This communion is emphasized over and over again in the New Testament as what we now have through God’s
Son. The Bible points to our union with Christ with the prepositional phrase “in Christ” (Eph. 1:4; 11; 2 Tim.
1:9; Rom. 5, 6:1–23; 1 Cor. 15:35–58).

 We are in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; John 15:4, 5, 7; 1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Cor. 12:2; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 1:4, 2:10; Phil.
3:9; 1 Thess. 4:16; 1 John 4:13).
Talks about our relationship with Christ…
1. We have died and been raised with Christ.
2. We have new life in Christ.
3. All our actions can be done in Christ.
4. All Christians together are one body in Christ.

 Christ is in us (Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:27; Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Eph. 3:17).
Jesus spoke of a second kind of relationship when he said, “He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that
bears much fruit” (John 15:5). It is not only true that we are in Christ; he is also in us, to give us power to live
the Christian life. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal.
2:20). The factor that determines whether someone is a Christian is whether Christ is in him (Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor.
13:5; Rev. 3:20). God’s wise plan, hidden as a mystery for generations, was to save Gentiles as well as Jews.
Therefore, Paul can tell his Gentile readers that God’s mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).
It is important to maintain, on the basis of these verses, that there is a real, personal dwelling of Christ in us,
and that this does not mean that we merely agree with Christ or that his ideas are in us. Rather, he is in us and
remains in us through faith (Eph. 3:17; 2 Cor. 13:5).4 To overlook this truth would be to neglect the great
source of spiritual strength that we have within us (1 John 4:4). To remember it destroys our pride, gives us a
constant feeling of deep dependence on Christ, and gives us great confidence, not in self, but in Christ working
in us (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 15:18; Phil. 4:13).
This indwelling of Christ affects our response to those in need. Whatever we do to help a Christian brother
or sister, we do to Christ (Matt. 25:40). Keeping Jesus’ commandments is an indication that he is in us, and the
Holy Spirit also bears witness to us that Christ is in us (1 John 3:24).

 Three passages (John 6:56; John 15:4; 1 John 4:13) explicitly combine both concepts.

Background
 John Ortberg points out that in the New Testament, “the word Christian is found only three times.
However, the New Testament letters associated with the apostle Paul use the phrase in Christ around
165 times.”
 Paul expresses the personal appropriation of the work of Christ by the term "in Christ."
 It is the apostle's favorite term to describe the personal and dynamic relation of the believer to Christ,
and appears in a variety of contexts.
 The phrase is found eight times in Galatians, thirty-four times in Ephesians, and eighteen times in
Colossians.
  In Ephesians, for example, the phrase "in Christ" is predominantly used in the instrumental sense,
signifying Christ as the channel through whom God works his will, elects, redeems, forgives, blesses,
imparts new life, and builds up the church.
 "In Christ" is an expression of intimate interrelatedness, analogous to the air that is breathed: it is in the
person, yet at the same time, the person is in it.

Isa-isahin natin ang talata…

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places,
 Note that God chose us even before He created the universe, so that our salvation is wholly of His grace and not
on the basis of anything we ourselves have done. He chose us in Christ, not in ourselves. And He chose us for a
purpose: to be holy and without blame. In the Bible, election is always unto something. It is a privilege that
carries a great responsibility.


4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before
him. In love
 As elect believers in Christ we have been identified with him at every stage of His redemptive work. We
are said to be crucified with Him (Gal. 2:20), we died with Him (Col. 2:20), we were buried with Him
(Rom. 6:4), made alive and raised up with Him (Eph. 2:5, 6). Presently we are positionally seated with
Him in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6).


5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his
glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 
 Adoption is the act of God by which He gives His “born ones” an adult standing in the family. Why does He do
this? So that we might immediately begin to claim our inheritance and enjoy our spiritual wealth! A baby cannot
legally use this inheritance (Gal. 4:1-7), but an adult son can—and should! This means that you do not have to
wait until you are an old saint before you can claim your riches in Christ.


7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his
grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will,
according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in
him, things in heaven and things on earth.



11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who
works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be
to the praise of his glory. 
 “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,” but “in whom also we were made an inheritance” is also a
possible translation. Both are true and the one includes the other. In Christ we have a wonderful inheritance (1
Peter 1:1-4), and in Christ we are an inheritance. We are valuable to Him.


13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were
sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire
possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

 


Implication…
1. Transformed Identity
Who you are in Christ

Because you are in Christ, EVERY ONE of these statements is true of you.
 I am loved. 1 John 3:3
 I am accepted. Ephesians 1:6
 I am a child of God. John 1:12
 I am Jesus' friend. John 15:14
 I am a joint heir with Jesus, sharing His inheritance with Him. Romans 8:17
 I am united with God and one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17
 I am a temple of God. His Spirit and his life lives in me. 1 Corinthians 6:19
 I am a member of Christ's body. 1 Corinthians 12:27
 I am a Saint. Ephesians 1:1
 I am redeemed and forgiven. Colossians 1:14
 I am complete in Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:10
 I am free from condemnation. Romans 8:1
 I am a new creation because I am in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17
 I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. Colossians 3:12
 I am established, anointed, and sealed by God. 2 Corinthians 1:21
 I do not have a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
 I am God's co-worker. 2 Corinthians 6:1
 I am seated in heavenly places with Christ. Eph 2:6
 I have direct access to God Ephesians. 2:18
 I am chosen to bear fruit John. 15:16
 I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. 1 Peter 2:5
 I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which I share His nature. 2 Peter
1:4
 I can always know the presence of God because He never leaves me Hebrews. 13:5
 God works in me to help me do the things He wants me to do Philippians 2:13
 I can ask God for wisdom and He will give me what I need. James 1:5

2. Transformed Relationship
3. Transformed Being

Application
Union nagiging…
Onion!- Mapapaiyak ka na lang dahil sa pagbalewala mo sa Kanya pero after noon wala lang ding nangyari.
Unyon!- Laban na laban ka naman sa Relasyaon sa Kanya, parang gusto mo ng makipag-break sa Kanya.
Yun yon!- Ang sasabihin mo sa sarili mo matapos ang mensaheng ito sabay tingin sa katabi pero pag-uwi
makakalimutan mo lang din…
  Our full and complete obedience is made possible through union with Christ.
 So union with Christ gives that beautiful, life-changing assurance that I can know the Father as my
Abba, call with the son’s own cry to him.
 But it also changes the very nature of the Christian life. I have not just been given this package of
blessing called heaven.
 And that makes real sense of the Christian life and of holiness.

QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL APPLICATION

 Have you thought of yourself as being united with Christ from the point of God’s choosing you before
the foundation of the world to the point of going to be with him in heaven forever?
 How does this idea change the way you think of yourself and your own life?
 How does it affect the way you think of difficulties that you may be experiencing at this time?
 In what ways can the ideas of having died with Christ and having been raised with him be an
encouragement in your present efforts to overcome sin that remains in your life?
 Have you previously thought of doing the actions that you do each day “in Christ” (see Phil. 4:13)? If
you thought of doing the reading that you are presently doing “in Christ,” how would it change your
attitude or perspective?
 What difference would it make to think of doing your daily work “in Christ”? What about carrying on
conversations with friends or family members? Or eating, or even sleeping?
 How can the idea of union with Christ increase your love and fellowship for other Christians, both those
in your church and those in other churches?
 Do you have any awareness in your day-to-day life of Christ living in you (Gal. 2:20)? What would
change in your life if you had a stronger awareness of Christ living in you throughout the day?

Challenge: Galatians 2:20

20 
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

v20At kung ako ma'y buhay hindi na ako ang nabubuhay kundi si Cristo ang nabubuhay sa akin. At habang
ako'y nasa daigdig, namumuhay ako sa pananalig sa Anak ng Diyos na umibig sa akin at nag-alay ng kanyang
buhay para sa akin.