Endless Blessing

The ancient city of Ephesus, located in modern-day Turkey, was a prosperous place. In terms of what the Roman world had to offer, Ephesus had it. It was a bustling city of wealth and commerce, along with a diversity of philosophy and religion. Ephesus was comparable to some contemporary, crossroads port cities today. All the world’s significant travelers, ideas, and wealth passed through there. The residents comforted their souls through idolatry. The goddess Diana (or Artemis) provided false religious refuge and financial security for those who traded on her image of silver.

The church in Ephesus faced the challenges many churches in communities of wealth face today. Ephesus was a lot like where you likely live. The people there didn’t feel desperate for a Savior. Because their living circumstances met their external needs, Paul’s challenge was to help them see the blessings they lacked apart from Christ.

The Gospel initially disrupted the Ephesians’ sense of security. They reacted with a not-so-peaceful protest (Acts 19) and sought to harm Paul and his colleagues. Despite this, a body of believers began to thrive there. The Ephesian church was special to Paul. Yet there was much in their culture to pull them away from Jesus.

So as Paul writes the Ephesians a letter from prison, he spends several verses recapping their endless blessings in Christ. Like we, who can have so many perceived needs met with a computer click, they need reminding of their real needs and Who meets them. God has given us more in Christ than the world could ever begin to provide.

No matter your level of earthly wealth, you are blessed and secure beyond measure in Christ. In Ephesians 1, Paul delivers a litany of these blessings. They are the kind that cannot be taken away or changed with the circumstantial fortunes of the world. Instead, they are planned, given, and guaranteed by God. If you look at verses 3-14 of Ephesians 1, you can count no less than seven special blessings that are ours in Christ.

That means that whether you lived in Ephesus, live in Beverly Hills, or the humblest village in Uganda, you are among the richest of all people. So think about it: no matter your background or what you have done with your life, if you are a Christ-follower, it’s all yours:

God chose you in Christ. You are declared completely clean, despite the dirt of your past. You are an adopted child of God. Christ has redeemed you, repurchased you, and set you free. Your pardon was all part of God’s plan! We get to offer this hope to everyone. Finally, you can’t lose any of this; your hope is secure! You can’t get that for all the money in the world.

As author Tim Keller illustrates, knowing the abundance with which God has blessed us in Christ should change everything:

This week, somebody criticized you. Something you bought or invested in turned out to be less valuable than you thought. Something you wanted to happen didn’t go the way you wanted it to—these are real losses. But what are you going to do if you’re a Christian? Will this setback disrupt your contentment with life? Will you shake your fist at God? Toss and turn at night? If so, I submit that it’s because you don’t know how truly rich you are. If you’re that upset about your status with other people, if you’re constantly lashing out at people for hurting your feelings, you might call it a lack of self-control or a lack of self-esteem, and it is. But more fundamentally, you have totally lost touch with your identity. As a Christian, you’re a spiritual billionaire and you’re wringing your hands over ten dollars.

—Tim Keller, The Two Advocates (Encounters with Jesus Series) (Penguin Group, 2014), Kindle Locations 242-244

So we are spiritual billionaires. In Christ, we are the recipients of endless blessings. We also have all the resources we need to live differently. Let’s do that.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” ─Philippians 4:19