Leaving Laodicea Steve McCranie

Being Thrilled With What You Already HaveBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Ephesians 1:3
The Cup is Always FullLet’s face it, we live in troubling times. Almost everywhere we look, there is division, chaos, fear, uncertainty, and corruption that erodes our confidence in our so-called “sacred institutions” and can be so depressing they often keep us from wanting to get out of bed in the morning. The future, for many, looks bleak. And the present doesn’t look so hot either. But that should never be said of a believer— especially after praying through this one verse, which is part of a long, single sentence in the letter to the church at Ephesus. No, this truth should give us hope and encouragement as we see life, not from the physical, horizontal perspective, but from God’s perspective. After all, His way is always better. And our problems always look smaller, almost insignificant, when viewed from heaven (Isa. 55:8-9).
Remember, we don’t have to choose to look at the glass as either half full or half empty. It is always full, totally, right to the brim. But it’s not necessarily full of the same thing or with what we can readily see. Half may be water and the rest air. But it is still full, nevertheless. And so it is with God. Some things we can see and some things we can’t. But He is still present, filling everything to the brim, even if our eyes are not open to Him moving. Then, we rely on faith in His promises and rest in the goodness of our God (Rom. 8:28). What an incredible place to live.
For this is where we experience the peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:6-7).
But don’t take my word for it; experience His peace yourself. Ask Him to put you in a place where you have nowhere to look but up, and see what this will do for your faith. Still not sure, then check out Hebrews 11 for some examples.
“Blessed,” “Every,” and “Heavenly Places”When you pray through Ephesians 1:3 today, focus especially on three key phrases: “has blessed us,” “every spiritual blessing,” and my favorite, “in the heavenly places.”
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ – Ephesians 1:3.
In our last time together, we spoke about the past-tense nature of our blessings, meaning they have already been given to us, and we possess them now (even if it doesn’t feel like it so much). This is not some minor grammatical detail, but a liberating spiritual truth once you wrap your mind around it. Basically, all God has in store for His children is available to us today, right now, in our present situation. The phrase, “has blessed us” means we don’t have to wait until He returns to earth to set up His kingdom, or we die and go to live with Him in heaven, or the trump of God sounds and the rapture takes place before we come into possession of “every” or “all” (pas) of our spiritual blessings. Nor do we have to earn them by living flawless lives or working ourselves ragged to gain His favor. No, we have them with us already, always— just like the Holy Spirit, who continually dwells in us.
Next, we are drawn to the words “every” (pas) and the phrase “spiritual blessing.” For me, I am reminded He has held nothing back from me, and I am now completely “blessed” with “every” or “all” spiritual blessings. Our Lord, our Father, has already bestowed on us things we cannot understand— truly amazing things, unheard of things. Try this one on for size:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man (what)...

Our Blessings in ChristBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ephesians 1:3a
The phrase “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” appears three times in the New Testament, and in each instance, it highlights some often-neglected spiritual blessings that believers have in Christ (Eph. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3). And once we learn to embrace these blessings and not let them slip out of the spotlight because of our trials, temptations, or just the chaotic stuff of life, then we can remember how truly blessed we are, regardless of how we feel or what others might say. Long two sentences, I know. But let’s look at some of the incredible things God has already given us by virtue of our redemption provided by the sacrifice of His only Son (John 3:16).
The Letter to EphesusIn Ephesians 1:3, Paul proclaims, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (why) who has blessed us with (what) every spiritual blessing (where) in the heavenly places in (how) Christ.” He then lists some of these blessings that are easily ignored. For example (and we’ll only look at the ones found in this one, long sentence):
•  We Have Been Given Every Spiritual Blessing: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed (past tense, action already accomplished) us with every (pas) spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ ” (Eph. 1:3). This overarching truth sets the foundation for all the blessings that follow. In Christ, we have been granted access to every (pas) spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms— which means there are no existing blessings we do not have access to. Everything, all of them that ever existed, are available to us as His children. This is the meaning of the adjective “every” (pas) in the Greek. It doesn’t say we have been blessed with “some” of the blessings or “most” of them are available to us. No, it says “every” or “all” (pas). Think about that for a moment. Do you understand what that means?
•  We Have Been Chosen for Holiness (to be just like Him): “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph. 1:4). Before the creation of the world, before time began, God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in His sight. And our holiness is not based on our own efforts, which are usually littered with failure, but on His sovereign choice and the work of Christ in our lives, where He imputed His righteousness to us (2 Cor. 5:21). God chose us to be like Him, holy, faultless, and without blame, simply because He loves us and wants us to be with Him (Jude 1:24).
•  God Determined to Adopt Us to Himself: “Having predestined (to predetermine the outcome beforehand) us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, (why) according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:5). God not only purposed to adopt us as His children, but has also elevated our status as children to heirs, and even joint-heirs with Christ Himself (Rom. 8:16-17). Can you imagine what that means (we will unpack this truth at a later time)? God determined, long before we proved ourselves worthy or not, to bring us into His family as His children for no other reason than “the good pleasure of His will.” Or, as we would say, “Simply because He wanted to.” It was His choice to choose you as His adopted child, and this unspeakable blessing should make everything else in life pale by comparison.
•  God Has Chosen to Accept Us to Himself: “To the praise of the glory of (what) His grace, by which He made (His action and not...

Just Scratching the Surface: Grace and PeaceGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:2
There is so much here in these fourteen words of verse two that it is hard to know where to begin. Paul, as was his custom, often presents these two fundamental truths of the Christian faith, “grace and peace,” at the end of his greeting to those recipients of his letters (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Phil. 1:2; 2 Thes. 1:2, Phlm. 1:3). It is almost like he wants to remind them of the gift of salvation and eternal life they have received by faith, based on God’s grace towards them, which brings a peace the world cannot understand nor experience (Phil. 4:7).
And sometimes Paul would add “mercy” to “grace and peace,” creating a holy trinity of blessings we have received from Christ (1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2, Titus 1:4), yet he seems to reserve “mercy” for his letters to individuals rather than churches. We’ll dig into the reasons for that at a later date.
What is Grace?Grace is a word that Paul uses to both begin (1:2) and end the book of Ephesians (6:24), and it occurs another ten times within these six chapters. Ephesians speaks of the grace of God’s unmerited favor in providing salvation through the sacrifice of His Son (1:7; 2:8) and His power granted to each of us to lead a life of sanctification, a holy life (4:7, 29). It also speaks of the fact that by grace, and grace alone, we are saved (2:5, 8) and that it is a gift of God to be shared with others (3:7).
But what exactly does the word mean? And how are we to understand this blessing of grace given to us by the mercy of God. Grace (cháris) means to “rejoice, and is God’s great kindness freely given towards those who are undeserving of His favor.” But more specifically:
This word may, at times, indicate kindness, as a quality or attribute of God or of the Lord Jesus Christ. It may also describe the state of salvation, and thirdly, the believer’s gratitude for the salvation received or for any gift of God. But in the present instance it refers undoubtedly to God’s spontaneous, unmerited favor in action, His freely bestowed lovingkindness in operation, bestowing salvation upon guilt-laden sinners. Grace is the fountain from which everything in Christ flows.¹
Just think, God the Father is called the “God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5:10), and Jesus is the Author, Giver, and Dispenser of grace (Acts 15:11; 2 Cor. 8:9; Rom. 16:20; 1 Thes. 5:28). Not to be left out, the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:29), and the very throne of God is referred to as His “throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16). As you can see, grace seems to permeate everything in the realm of God— and rightly so.
But What About Peace?The peace this passage talks about is not just the absence of conflict, like peace between two warring factions, but it is a peace that is the result of God granting us His grace. When we speak of “grace and peace,” we are looking at two bookends of the entire Christian experience. What begins with God’s grace freely bestowed upon us undeservingly, ends with our peace— peace with God (Eph. 2:14, 17), peace with others (2:15; 4:3), and peace with ourselves. It really doesn’t get much better than that.
And this peace knows no bounds. We cannot imagine what it is like until we experience it ourselves because it is unlike any peace the world can offer (Phil. 4:7). Jesus said so Himself:
“Peace I leave with you, (described as) My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be...

Uh, Sorry. We Don’t Do Saints in Our ChurchTo the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 1:1b
“Saints. Really? That sounds kinda Catholic to me.” And for many, it does.
But the term “saints” seems to be God’s go-to description for those He redeems and calls to Himself. In fact, Paul uses this term to identify those he addresses in his letters. For example, in Romans, he writes, “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (Rom. 1:7). In the same manner, he addresses those in Corinth as “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2). And he repeats this pattern in his letters to the churches in Philippi (Phil. 1:1), Colossae (Col. 1:2), and Thessalonica (1 Thess. 1:1).
By addressing believers as saints, Paul reminds them, and us, of the reality of our new identity in Christ. Being deemed a saint is not a status earned through good works or perfect behavior, nor is it a title given by a religious body to commemorate some meritorious act, but it’s a descriptive designation God bestows on His children by grace. It’s how He sees us— no matter how much we may have lived un-saintly lives or how we have grieved His Spirit (Eph. 4:30). This designation as a saint reminds us we are no longer defined by our past sins or failures, but by our relationship with Christ and the righteousness He imparts to us (1 Cor. 5:21).
But What is a Saint (hágios)?In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as “saints” is “hágios,” and carries the meaning of being “holy, set apart, and dedicated to God.” It is not a title limited to a select few who achieved some higher level of spiritual excellence, performed miracles, or made great sacrifices for the sake of the Gospel, but it refers to all believers who are set apart for God’s purposes. Being called a saint implies we are consecrated and dedicated to God, and reflect His holiness in our lives (or at least, we should be reflecting the holiness of God in the way we live. But we’ll address ‌sanctification at a later time).
In Ephesians 1:1, Paul uses this term to remind those in Ephesus of their unique identity in Christ— not by defining them by what they were, but by who they are now (1 Cor. 6:19). And as saints, they in Ephesus, and we today, are called to live in a way that honors God by demonstrating His character in our daily lives. Remember, this life of holiness is not something we achieve on our own (because we can’t), but it is made possible only through the work of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Note the operative word: holy— as in Holy Spirit. Our holiness is simply a reflection of the Holy Spirit who now lives in us.
The Indwelling of the Holy SpiritCentral to our identity as saints is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, which is one of the most amazing things about this life with Christ. In Ephesians 1:13-14, Paul writes,
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with (what) the Holy Spirit of promise, (described as) who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
The moment we believe and regeneration takes place, the Holy Spirit makes His home within us, marking us as God’s own, and acting as a seal and guarantee of our eternal inheritance in Christ. This seal signifies ownership, security, and authenticity. It is a divine guarantee of our future inheritance in God’s kingdom, a promise that we will one day fully partake in the...

Zero to Hero on a Dusty RoadPaul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
Ephesians 1:1a
As we embark on this adventure in prayer and the study of the book of Ephesians, let’s begin by looking at the person God chose to write this letter and evangelize the known world at that time. His name is Paul, formerly Saul— whom the Lord designated as an apostle of His Son, Jesus Christ.
There is much to learn about this simple change of names and, more importantly, the change of identity that accompanies the new name. And the transformation we see in Paul is the same transformation that occurred in you— if you know Christ and have experienced true regeneration and salvation. But more on that later.
In the opening few words of his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul identifies himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (Eph. 1:1a). Note that this transformation was by the will of God and not based on the strength of Paul’s personality, his own merit or hard work, nor his ambition, education, family background, or career choice. It was by God and God alone— because only God has the power to transform lives and use individuals for His divine purposes like He did Paul and countless others throughout church history. Paul’s life is a living testament to this. Once he was Saul, a violent persecutor of the early church and an enemy of Christ. Then, in a blinding light, he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. And now, everything changed (read it for yourself in Acts 9:1-19). As Mary Magdalene from the series The Chosen said when she was trying to explain her transformation to Nicodemus:
“I was one way— and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.”
This is what happened to Paul, and to each of us who Christ has changed.
From Saul to Paul or From Darkness to LightSaul was a zealous Pharisee who dedicated his life to upholding Jewish law and tradition. It was his passion, and therefore, he saw the early Christians as a threat to his beliefs and actively sought to silence them through persecution, imprisonment, and, ultimately, death. However, God had other plans for Saul. In a blinding moment of revelation and truth, all orchestrated by God and when Saul least expected it (which is often how the Lord works), Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus and confronted him with the truth he had so vehemently rejected (Acts 9:1-9). This encounter marked the beginning of Saul’s transformation into Paul, who became one of the most influential Christians and an example to all. He became a missionary, evangelist, church planter, apologist, and the writer of most of the New Testament.
But what happened to Paul was not an isolated event. God is still in the business of changing lives, even yours— if you would surrender your life to Him. But once again, we’ll talk more about that later.
What Does it Mean For Us Today?Paul’s story is a reminder that no one, including you and me, is beyond the reach of God and His wondrous grace. Just as God changed a violent persecutor of the church into a committed proclaimer of the Gospel, He can also transform our lives, no matter how messed up we have made them, and use us for His glory. All throughout history, we see examples of ordinary people, like you and me, who experienced the extraordinary, life-changing touch of God:
•  Augustine of Hippo was once driven by worldly ambitions and desires (he was actually a pretty nasty dude), and became the most influential theologian during the early history of the church and penned such classics as “The City of God” and “Confessions.”
•  There was John...

Small Beginnings Lead to Great EndingsAs we pray through the marvelous book of Ephesians, I want to give us an overview of some truths in this first chapter that will literally change your life. The book of Ephesians is something you could spend your entire life studying, and still not discover all God has hidden in its pages. It is magnificent, speaking to the very core of our being as believers in Christ, and it has an inexhaustible supply of spiritual truths and revelations that are so needed today.
As an overview, early in chapter one, we encounter a grand display of God’s sovereignty revealed by His choosing us, in Him, before the foundation of the world. We see this in verses 3 through 6, where it says:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved – Ephesians 1:3-6.
Next, this amazing chapter ends with the proclamation of the power and might of our wonderful Lord where the Holy Spirit proclaims that God placed Jesus “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:21). And as you will see later in this study, “principality and power and might and dominion” not only refers to earthly kings and kingdoms, but more specifically, demonic kingdoms (Eph. 3:10; Col. 2:10). But we will unpack these amazing truths later.
And finally, the chapter is stuffed full of graduate-level discussions of the church, the body of Christ, and the power that rests with the church because of Christ. In today’s turbulent times, I can’t think of anything more important than for the church to understand the power we have because of our risen Savior and Lord (Eph. 1:22-23; Matt. 16:18-19). This is a topic we will spend some time trying to fully understand in order to be the salt and light we are commanded and empowered to be (Matt. 5:13-16). But once again, we’ll have to wait a bit before we feast on this life-changing truth.
As you can see, there is so much for us to discover as we strive to grow into the likeness of Christ (Eph. 4:22-24). And this is only the beginning.
Asking Important QuestionsOne skill I hope each of us will gain during our study is the ability to ask simple questions of the text and feel comfortable doing so. These questions do not lead to doubt, but they allow us to dig a little deeper into what the text says and means, rather than settle for just scratching the surface.
You may recognize many of these questions from high school English, if you were paying attention, which I wasn’t (which means I had to learn this later in life, which is always harder. Ahem). They are what we call the who, what, when, where, why, how, and my favorite, to what extent types of questions. What we find when we ask questions of the text is that the macro (large, expansive) view becomes the micro (small, detailed, specific) view, and we are better able to grasp, understand, and internalize more of what the word of God is saying. And we can do all of this without additional study and resources by just asking a few questions.
Let me give you an example of Ephesians 1:3-6, which are the verses we looked at earlier. But now, let’s look at them and ask a few clarifying questions.
Blessed be (who) the God and Father of our Lord