[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, March 16, 2025 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
Heavenly Spiritual Blessings 1 - Chosen (Eph 1:3-6)
2025. 3. 16. 주일예배 설교- 에베소서 강해 2
본문: 에베소서 1:3-6
제목: 하늘에 속한 신령한 복 1-택하심
설교자: 손진국 목사
20250316 Sunday - Heavenly Spiritual Blessings 1 - Chosen (Eph 1:3-6)
Ephecians Series 2nd
Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Church)
Hallelujah! It’s good to see you. First, I want to declare our faith. Please say "Amen" when I speak. The Lord is the Savior of the whole world. The Lord is our King and our Master. And that Lord is with us now. I hope that God's power will come upon us at this time.
Let’s bless each other with the person next to you. “The Lord is with us.”
Today’s message is about the blessings that God the Father has given to believers. In verse 3, it is called all the heavenly spiritual blessings.
[Verse 3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
As we continue to meditate on this word, we can see God’s heart. What kind of heart is it? Let’s read together.
God wants to bless us. God wants to give us blessings. Not just want, but He is eager to bless us. God loves us very much. When you love someone very much, you want to give them good things. Even though you have already given a lot, you still want to give more. (Example: A mother feeding a child = God’s heart).
God wants us to live a life not abandoned in pain, sorrow, and despair, but a life of renewal, joy, and praise every day. That is the Father’s heart.
As we live, we sometimes go through difficult, challenging, and incomprehensible things in our lives. But there is something we must always remember, even in the midst of such suffering. That is the fact that God is our Father and that He wants to bless us in all situations.
Let’s declare with our faith: “God is my Father who loves me.” “God wants to give me abundant blessings.” “Even when it is hard and difficult, He cares for me and leads me.” “Even at this moment, He is with me.”
Now, what are the heavenly spiritual blessings that God gives us, which are mentioned in verses 4 and beyond? There are three of them, and I have summarized them. Let’s read together. The first is the blessing of election, the second is the blessing of predestination, and the third is the blessing of adoption, which is being made sons. Election, predestination, and adoption are very important matters in our faith. Today, I want to talk about the first one, the blessing of election.
The first heavenly blessing that God has given us is that He has chosen us.
[Verse 4] For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
God has chosen us. And when He explains this election, He uses two words: “before the foundation of the world” and “in Christ.”
1. God chose us before the foundation of the world
To be chosen before the foundation of the world means He chose us before we were created. It means not only before the world was created, but before we existed, before we became who we are now, God chose us. In other words, God chose us before we were even made, before we became what we are now.
This shows that He did not choose us based on what we became after we were created. There could be two responses to this.
One response might be, “How could that be? That’s unfair!” It’s like when we pick something, we check if it’s not broken, if all the functions are working well, if it’s not damaged or spoiled, if the design or color is right. But how could God choose His people without seeing them, without them even appearing? Some might say that even after a person is born and they are called God’s people, they look to our human eyes like failures or defective products—they can’t even move properly. How can they become holy and blameless as God’s people? On the other hand, we see someone who doesn’t believe in God, but their appearance, character, speech, and actions seem far better than those of a believer. How could God choose someone like us and not choose someone like them? This is considered unfair and irrational.
Another response might be, “I don’t even understand why God chose me.” When they look at themselves, they feel they are not worthy of being chosen. But rather than thinking that God’s choice is unfair or irrational, it is recognizing that it is entirely God’s sovereignty. For a created being like us to call God’s sovereignty unfair or irrational is to overstep our bounds. Even though we don’t understand it, one thing we know is that God’s choice, His election, is His love given to us despite our unworthiness. All we can do is thank God for His grace in choosing us.
How do you respond to God’s election before the foundation of the world?
In the book of Genesis, we read about the story of Jacob and Esau. Among the two brothers, God blessed Jacob. Why? Some people think it was because Jacob took Esau’s birthright. But no, God blessed Jacob because He chose him.
[Genesis 25:23] The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
Blessing is not about taking away; it’s about giving. God’s salvation is not about taking away; it’s about giving. That is election. And this is why people call it unfair. Why? Because God chose us before we even existed, regardless of our actions, our choices, or our appearance.
What is fairness in the world? It’s that the rich and the poor should be different. The wealthy should be in higher positions. Even at a hotel, in a restaurant, there is a sense of hierarchy. But God, unfairly, chose us regardless of these things. That’s why people in the world call it unfair, and even Satan calls it unfair. How can God save people like us? That is slander. Satan slanders. What does he slander? “Look at that person.” And that voice of Satan is still heard in us today. Inferiority begins to grow within us. A judgmental heart starts to rise. Where does it all come from? The root of inferiority and condemnation is not from God but from Satan’s slander.
We were chosen before the foundation of the world. The Bible does not say it is unfair but calls it grace.
This is the story of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20. Whether they worked from early morning or only for an hour, the owner of the vineyard paid them the same wage. And the people said it was unfair. But this unfairness is the gospel. Hallelujah! The Lord came to us in grace and chose us before we even appeared.
Therefore, we do not act in order to be chosen. We act with joy and gratitude because we have been chosen. If we had to act to be chosen, how tiring would that be? Christianity is not a religion to be chosen. All other religions exist to be chosen. People worship to be chosen. They act to be chosen. They perform good deeds or suffer hardships in hopes of being chosen for happiness in the afterlife. Christianity is not such a tiring religion. Christianity is about gathering together as those who have been chosen. Christianity is about praying as those who have been chosen. If we pray, trying to move God’s heart with our efforts, hoping He will do what we want, that is asking wrongly.
The people of the world strive to be chosen. They build their resumes, change their appearance. Their lives are like a race to be chosen. It is so tiring. But I pray that you will have peace, not tiredness. The Lord chose us before the foundation of the world. Before we sinned, before we did good deeds, He chose us, and that is grace.
[Application] How do you respond to God's election before the foundation of the world? Do you reject it as unfair and irrational, or do you acknowledge His sovereignty and give thanks for His grace?
What do you think about living a life that strives for recognition? Are you perhaps making an effort today to be recognized by someone? It seems that running to gain the recognition of a spouse, parents, children, superiors, and organizations is the very burden of life. The same applies to faith. Those who attend church, serve, and worship in order to gain recognition will find it exhausting. Such a faith life, ministry, and worship will only harm us. Also, praying for the sake of recognition makes us arrogant. Why? Because we begin to think that all the answers come because of our prayers. We believe that blessings come because we faithfully attended worship without missing a service. But that is not the case. It is no different from Jacob believing he was blessed because he stole Esau's birthright.
Remember, God has already decided and chosen to bless us before the creation of the world. Therefore, be at peace.
[Ephesians 2:8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Salvation is a gift. A gift is not something you buy with money. If you buy it with money, it is a transaction. God is not someone we do business with. He is our Father.
[John 15:16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.
[Isaiah 43:10] “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen.”
[Application] Are you perhaps running to gain someone's recognition or love? Do you have the joy and gratitude of the salvation you received by grace?
2. God chose us in Christ.
[Verse 4] For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love.
He chose us before the creation of the world, and He chose us in Christ to make us holy and blameless before Him. The phrase "in Christ" appears 164 times in Paul's letters and 30 times in the book of Ephesians alone.
This means that when God chose us before the creation of the world, He already embraced us in Christ. It is like the conception of a baby in a mother's womb. How is the shape of the fetus formed? It is formed in the likeness of the father and mother because it carries their genes, blood, and love.
[John 14:20] On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
We are in Christ, and the life of Christ is within us. When God looks at us, He sees Jesus Christ who covers us, and therefore, He sees us as holy and blameless. The Spirit of Jesus Christ dwells in us and transforms us into His image, making us holy and blameless.
[Romans 5:8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Why? Because God already loved and chose us. The cross is the ultimate expression of His first love for us. The moment we forget this first love, we struggle to earn God’s love. When we forget how love came to us, Satan’s accusations take over our hearts, and we begin to live a weary life of competition before God.
God saved us while we were still sinners. Therefore, even when we feel lacking before God, He never leaves us. Amen.
Have you ever refrained from coming before God or your faith community because of sin or shame? When we sin or experience something embarrassing, we tend to hide and withdraw from God and the community. But we must not do that. If we run away or hide after sinning, we end up committing even greater sins.
Remember, we are weak beings who cannot avoid sin or handle ourselves on our own. Therefore, we must come before God and repent. Like Paul confessed, we should say, "God, I am the worst of sinners. God, I cannot handle this on my own. I need Your grace. Please help me."
When we repent before the Lord in this way, we will deny ourselves a little more and be filled with Jesus Christ. Continuously coming before the Lord is what it means to be chosen before the creation of the world. It means we were chosen in Christ.
Dear beloved saints, where does our honor lie? It is not in us. Our honor is in our Savior Jesus Christ, who embraced us before the creation of the world. Where is our safety? It is in the love of God that exists in Christ, who holds us.
[Romans 8:38-39] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God’s love has been poured out upon us in Christ. We are God’s children who have already been chosen in Christ before the creation of the world. Therefore, when we look at one another, we should see the Christ who covers us. This is what it means to see with the eyes of faith. When we see with the eyes of faith, the brother or sister sitting next to us will look different. How will they look? They will appear as Christians. In other words, they will appear as those who belong to Christ, those who are in Christ, and as little Christs—holy and blameless, honored ones.
Turn to the person next to you and say, "Now that I see you again, you are truly honored." And once more, "You are in Christ."
How grateful we should be! Whenever we feel the urge to compare, whenever we feel condemned, whenever we seek to be recognized by God, let us say, "God! Thank You for Your love and grace that chose us in Christ before the creation of the world." May we all be moved and grateful once again, placing our identity and worth in the love of God who chose us and in Christ who covers us, and may we share God’s love and grace with one another. In the name of the Lord, I bless you all.
[Application] When you are in sin, do you trust in God’s love and come to Him, or do you run away in fear? When you see your brothers and sisters in Christ, do you view them through the standards of the world, or do you see them with the eyes of faith in the Lord?
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.