"Gatorade Shower"
Series: Talking Through Ephesians
Praise God for His Spiritual Blessings
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Why do players love to dump orange coolers of icy-cold sports drink all over their coach? That's just what you do when you're full of joy and appreciation after a giant win! As silly as a Gatorade shower might seem, here in Eph. 1:3-14, as God lavishes the riches of his grace on us (Eph. 1:7-8), we see Paul gushing out poetic words of praise for those bountiful spiritual blessings.
The Big Idea
Jesus brings us together into a new spiritual family who lives to honor God for his incredible salvation. A mystery since the beginning, God's plan for Christ was to reunite what was previously separated (Eph 1:9-10; c.f. John 12:27). Whereas we were once lost in our sins — outcasts — now God has lovingly adopted us into his family through Jesus' sacrifice (Eph 1:4). And, if being welcomed into a loving and intimate relationship with God wasn't enough, we confidently look forward to a heavenly inheritance someday (Eph. 1:11, 14)!
Wow — God definitely didn’t hold back from us! And how do we express our joy and appreciation? Paul says that we should aim to live every day blamelessly, in holiness (Eph. 1:4), and "to the praise of his glorious grace" (Eph. 1:6). A high standard of living for the high price paid for our salvation.
But this section also leads us to wrestle with our understanding of some important questions:
- What does "in Christ" mean?
- How are we "chosen" or "predestined" today?
- What makes these blessings "spiritual"?
- What's the Holy Spirit's role in our salvation?
A lot to chew on in these verses. A sweeping and poetic start to the letter, Paul's words inspire joyful appreciation of God's saving grace towards us!
The Big Question
Have you been adopted into the Lord's family, united with God through Christ?
