Ephesians Study 1:11-12

Building on what Paul has already told us, we now begin to find out a few more things that God has lavished on us as well as getting insight into part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

This next chunk of verses starts off by saying "In Him also…". Now remember, that as a Child of God – you are in Him. And Paul uses that phrase again. It is important to remember that all this great stuff is for us in Him. It is not without Him.

I also like the next word: also. This tells mean that in addition to the other stuff that Paul wrote about – as good as it was – there is some extra stuff — also! Come on!

So, along with being redeemed, having the riches of God’s grace abound toward me and understanding that this is the will of God that brings Him pleasure…I also have obtained an inheritance.

Interestingly, Epeshians talks quite a bit about our inheritance. As we will see later – Paul prays that we will know what it is.

We will look more at inheritance later – but for now, the thing to realise is when you get this inheritance. You see some people think that we will get out inheritance when we get to heaven. The Bible talks about inheriting salvation, eternal life, the kingdom of God and blessing.

Inheritance is something that you get when the other person dies – not you. The person leaving you the inheritance has to die for you to get it. You don’t then have to die to get that inheritance. You see, when Jesus died is when you inheritance was given to you.

So the point to note here is that you already have this inheritance. It is not necessarily something that you will get.

Destiny Again
The remaining portion of this verse talks again about our destiny, and our destiny is part of our inheritance. And this destiny, this inheritance is according to His purpose. It is the purpose of God that we have a destiny and an inheritance.

I want to pay attention to the phrase "who works all things according to the counsel of His will".

It will be helpful to understand what this doesn’t mean as well as what is does mean. It doesn’t mean that everything that happens to you or to others is worked according to the counsel of His will.

I hear some people say that it is "God’s will" whenever anything (good or bad) happens in their life. And this is simply not the case. Yes, sometimes bad things happen to good people that we just don’t have any answer for. Sometimes bad things happen not because it is God’s will for our lives, but it is just a consequence of decisions that we have made.

Don’t be quick to blame God when things are not going right. God is not your problem.

What God has worked according to the counsel of His will is your destiny, your inhertiance, your redemption. All that is included in your destiny, all that is included in your inheritance, all that is included in your redemption – all these things God has will work all of those things according to the counsel of His will. You see – God’s will has counsel, and it is wise counsel at that!

Being to the Praise of His Glory
Verse 12 talks about being to the praise of His glory. This is a fascinating phrase. It is talking about our very lives being praise to His Glory. When people see you and your life, they should praise the glory of God because of the grace and integrity that is on your life.

If there is one thing that the world hates in Christians it is hypocrisy. It doesn’t bring praise to God. But when you walk in His grace, redemption, favour and inheritance – you bring praise to his glory.

Can you, like Paul, say, "imitate me, as I imitiate Christ"? When people see your life – will they think that you have something worth imitating? If so, you are being to the praise of His glory.

Being to the Praise of His Glory
Verse 12 talks about being to the praise of His glory. This is a fascinating phrase. It is talking about our very lives being praise to His Glory. When people see you and your life, they should praise the glory of God because of the grace and integrity that is on your life.

If there is one thing that the world hates in Christians it is hypocrisy. It doesn’t bring praise to God. But when you walk in His grace, redemption, favour and inheritance – you bring praise to his glory.

Let’s live a lifestyle that brings Glory to God!