Is there anything better than receiving a gift? Especially when it’s undeserved. Those who believe in Jesus have received salvation, the best gift of all, and much more besides.
Paul, a New Testament writer, teaches that believers in Jesus have been blessed “in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3 NIV).
He writes in the past tense, indicating that this has already been done for those who believe. This is true of all who belong to Jesus. We receive the gift of “every spiritual blessing”.
Here are seven spiritual blessings Jesus gives to His children.
1. We are chosen.
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4a NIV).
I was chosen before anything existed. I know this is true, but I can’t comprehend it. Our all-knowing, all-powerful God formed the universe out of nothing, learning, in His omniscience, the choices each person would make and the results of every act. Yet, He still chose us.
Because He is Almighty God, He can see all of history from beginning to end. Just as a parent often knows how their child will react, He knows each heart that will love His Son, Jesus Christ, and He chooses each one. The Father selects every person who believes in Jesus.
This incredible truth is difficult, if not impossible, to grasp: we believe it by faith.
Trust Him and know: You are chosen.
2. We are holy and blameless before Him.
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4 NIV).
We’re far from holy and certainly not blameless, but anyone in Christ is innocent before God. When someone believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He exchanges our sins for His righteousness. He clothes us in His purity.
I struggled for many years trying to be “holy.” When awareness of my sins hit me, I’d add more rules to my life, hoping to prove my holiness. But all this self-effort did nothing to change my standing before God. My righteousness only comes from Jesus Christ. God sees me as holy because Jesus earned it for me. In our own efforts, it’s impossible to be righteous.
Believe in Jesus and know: He sees you as pure and innocent.
3. God adopts us.
“In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:4b-5 NIV).
God decided in advance to adopt us despite knowing every sin we would commit. Being fully aware of our rebellion, He willingly and with pleasure planned on adopting us as His beloved children.
We have one son whom we adopted when he was a newborn. He was my beloved son and part of my heart from the moment I knew of his existence. How much more does our perfect Father love His adopted children?
Receive this truth: You were lovingly adopted by God.
4. We are given abundant grace.
“To the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves… in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:6, 7b-8a NIV).
God lavishly pours out His free, glorious grace, unearned and undeserved, on all because of our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His grace, which never runs out, is more than enough to cover every sin and transgression. Our part is to repent from unbelief and follow Jesus.
Believe: Overflowing grace is yours.
5. We are redeemed.
“In him we have redemption through his blood” (Ephesians 1:7a NIV).
Because of rebellion, Satan held all humanity as prisoners to sin and death. Only the blood of a perfect sacrifice could redeem us. Jesus Christ willingly came to earth to be that perfect blood sacrifice. He bought our freedom with His holy blood.
Because of Jesus: You are redeemed.
6. We are forgiven.
“In him we have…the forgiveness of sins…” (Ephesians 1:7 NIV).
Forgiven, off the hook, released, set free, our debt is erased and paid in full.
In our flesh, we’re stubborn, willful, prideful, selfish, and bent to wickedness. We don’t love God or others as we should. Our sin debt is enormous, yet God stamps it “paid in full” through Jesus when we put our faith in Him.
Guilt crushed me once over a particular sin. I confessed multiple times but felt tortured, until I learned what forgiveness truly means. When Jesus forgives, He cleanses us of all our sins. If we continue to punish ourselves, we’re acting as if His death wasn’t enough. If God can forgive us, to say we can’t forgive ourselves puts our opinion above His.
What freedom comes when a guilty soul is forgiven! Undeserved, but freely given.
Rest assured: You are forgiven.
7. The Holy Spirit seals us.
“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13 NIV).
At the Last Supper, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as a helper to be with His followers after He departed from earth. Less than two months later, as His followers met on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus sent the gift of the Holy Spirit to live in each believer.
Consequently, every person who puts their faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is indwelt by His Spirit. Paul describes it here as being “marked with a seal.” We’re stamped as belonging to God when we trust Christ. He owns us. Nothing and no one can ever take us away.
In Christ: You are sealed by the Holy Spirit and His for eternity.
How Do We Access These Incredible Blessings?
Once we believe in Jesus, these blessings are ours. We have a choice: we can accept these truths by faith and live in the freedom they give, or we can believe the lies that come to us and live as if we’re slaves to sin. Jesus wants us to choose freedom, but Satan wants us to believe his lie that we’re still guilty and not fully forgiven.
Just as we receive salvation by faith, we continue in faith. When false teachers came to the church in Galatia, Paul questioned them, “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3 NIV).
We live in these blessings by faith. Paul wrote, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’ (Romans 1:17 NIV).
By faith, we believe Jesus Christ died and rose again, placing our trust in Him. Once we’re His, we walk by faith day by day. We turn from sin, seeking to die to self and follow Him. We continue by faith each day, trusting Him for what we need and ultimately trusting Him to give us eternal life with Him in heaven.
These gifts are ours as believers. We’re chosen, redeemed, forgiven, covered with grace, and indwelt by His Holy Spirit. God pours His love out freely. May we believe and receive His gifts fully.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/kieferpix
Susan Aken is a writer, wife, mom, and follower of Jesus. She is an Oklahoma native but has lived in Nebraska for years. Besides writing, she has a passion for special needs and prayer ministries. She enjoys time with family, reading, and nature photography. She loves studying and teaching Bible truth. She believes life is a journey and we’re all in different places. Jesus is everything to her and it’s all about grace. Visit her at susanaken53.wordpress.com or on Facebook.
