Text: Ephesians 1:3-14

Title: Chosen

Consider these questions and whether or not they apply to you:

Of course, not every person can raise his hand to reply in the affirmative to every question. God has given us many and various gifts when it comes to the physical blessings of this life. Where we may enjoy many and various physical blessings, how about when it comes to spiritual blessings? Where I can ask you questions about your physical blessings and get any number of hands raised and not raised, were I to ask you questions about the spiritual blessings in your life, the results would be totally different. Why is that?

See, where God has so many different plans and trials and challenges for us in this physical life, He has the same plan for all of us for eternal life. God’s goal for every person is to get us to heaven. In His Word, we are taught that God would have all to be saved, that He so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son as the Savior.

Therefore, to accomplish the goal in each individual life, God does not block the way in order to receive His spiritual blessings. Of these, He gives freely; He gives completely.

This is what we are taught in this section from Ephesians: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places . . ."

So, just what is every spiritual blessing that we enjoy? We hear the basics of God’s love for us in Jesus a few verses later: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses . . ."

Now, who of you has less redemption in Jesus’ blood than another? Who has a more complete forgiveness of sins than anyone else? To these questions, no one can raise his hand because God "has blessed [you] in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."

And, just how do you experience these every spiritual blessings? Here is the rest of the story: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us . . ."

Here we go, again—my favorite way to picture this. You are a bowl of vanilla ice cream. God’s grace is hot fudge. How do you bless a bowl of vanilla ice cream? Do you simply put a little dab of hot fudge on it? Do you tease the ice cream with a little smidgen? No, you cover it—you smother it—with hot fudge. You pour so much hot fudge on it that it is a requirement that some of the fudge go over the edge and onto the counter. And, if you don’t, I want to see you in my office after church.

The hot fudges reminds us of the riches of God’s every spiritual blessing. God lavishes His grace on us. When you were baptized, God lavished you with His Holy Spirit, He drenched your soul with forgiveness, He splurged on you with salvation from death, devil, and damnation.

These every spiritual blessing gifts, God keeps lavishing upon you in your daily life. His Holy Spirit resides in you; you are His temple. With His Holy Spirit, you remain in faith toward Jesus Christ, and continually possess the redemption and forgiveness gifts.

And, though you daily remain lavished with the riches of God’s grace, He has wonderful ways of covering you with more of His riches. The forgiveness which I am blessed to pronounce to you at the beginning of the Divine Service is as sure and true as if our Lord, Himself, were standing in this chancel, lavishing God’s every spiritual blessing upon you.

And, the meal which we will soon eat, while it might be physically small and skimpy, that bread and wine carry the body and blood of Jesus, who lavishes your eating and drinking with the work of His crucifixion and His resurrection, that is, His every spiritual blessing.

This is the Gospel, dear Christians; the Good News of Jesus Christ for your daily and eternal lives. And, this Gospel is Good News which expects action, a response on our part. Indeed, your presence in worship, to hear the Word, to be absolved of your sins, to receive Holy Communion, to pray, and to praise your Lord—this is your faithful response.

Your worship for the Lord flows out of the church and into the community, into the devotion that you have for the loved ones in your homes, and the people with whom you work and play. Your love for the Lord Jesus turns into what I called on New Year’s Eve your good works and your good words.

Your life displays something. Your life show who you are, of what you are made. Your life shows to whom you belong, of whom you are made. This takes us to my favorite part of this favorite section of mine, from Ephesians chapter one.

So fully, so completely, so marvelously has God the Father lavished you with every gift which Jesus Christ purchased for you with His holy, precious blood and innocent suffering and death, that He took no chance that you might not receive these gifts, in your lifetime.

So precious, so important, so beloved are you to God the Father that, before He ever said, "Let there be light," He handpicked you to belong to Him. So precious, so important, so beloved are you to God the Son that, before He laid the foundations of the world, He chose you to be one whom His blood would cover. So precious, so important, so beloved are you to God the Holy Spirit that, before He ever hovered upon the waters, He predestined you to be called by the Gospel of Christ, to be baptized into His forgiveness of sins, and that He would abide with you until the day that you see your Redeemer, face to face, in heaven.

Come what may to your lives this new year, your Lord’s good and gracious will for you is eternal life in Christ. It’s a done deal. You belong to Jesus Christ. You have been chosen and lavished with His gifts, for your daily lives and forever. Amen.