![]() Believers have access to these “heavenly places” in the present as the sphere where spiritual blessings are offered through Christ (Eph. 6:12), and to the location of Christ’s exaltation at the right hand of the Father (Eph. 6:9), to the location of spiritual powers (Eph. In Ephesians the phrases “in the heavenly places” and “in the heavens” or “in heaven” point to heaven as the dwelling place of God (Eph. 6:12 compare the use of “in the heavens,” Eph. ![]() What does the phrase “in the heavenly places” mean in Ephesians (the only place it is used in the New Testament)? Study the uses of the phrase. We lose salvation only by our own sinful choices. In short, it’s God’s intention for us to be saved. Since before the sun began to shine, it has been His strategy that we would be “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. ![]() 5:27) as treasured sons and daughters by virtue of both Creation and Redemption in Christ (Eph. Before the creation of the world, God chose us in Christ and determined that we should stand “holy and blameless” in His presence (Eph. 1:13, 14).Įphesians 1:3-6 contains inspiring language about how God views us in Christ. That the blessings are spiritual (Greek, pneumatikos) suggests that they come through the Spirit ( pneuma), pointing to the closing of Paul’s blessing, which celebrates the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers (Eph. Paul praises God for the fact that He has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. Paul includes a long gift list in Ephesians 1:3-14 as he thanks God for the blessings of the gospel. Sunday ↥ July 2 Chosen and Accepted in ChristĪ thank you note usually includes a description of the gift or gifts received. Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 8. Paul’s opening here makes Ephesians especially valuable in modeling how to worship God and to praise God for the many blessings He has provided. 1:4) and praises God for working through the ages on behalf of believers. Paul argues that God has been at work on these essential blessings since “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with a majestic thank you note, praising God for the blessings He has poured out, blessings as essential to the lives of believers as a spacesuit is for someone who walks on the moon. Calling it “the most photographed spacecraft in history” and teasing that it was successful at hiding “its ugly occupant” from view, Armstrong thanked “the EMU Gang” at the Johnson Space Center for the “tough, reliable, and almost cuddly” suit that preserved his life, sending them “a quarter century’s worth of thanks and congratulations.” Twenty-five years after becoming the first person to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong wrote a thank you note to the creative team who designed the spacesuit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), in which he took those historic steps. Memory Text: “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” (Ephesians 1:3, ESV). Lesson 2 July 1-7 God’s Grand, Christ-centered Plan
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