I'm Adopted (Ephesians 1-2) - Harvest Kuala Lumpur

Resource by Eric Weiner

It’s difficult to hear the news of this brother’s ministry but it’s also a powerful example for us of what it looks like to trust God even when things don’t go our way. We ask the Lord to align our ambitions with the gospel and then hold those plans loosely according to what he wills.

Following Jesus doesn’t mean we’re promised an easy life. In fact, it tends to feel like just the opposite. Yeah, we’re promised a life filled with purpose, but sometimes even living for God feels discouraging. And maybe that’s where you are this morning. You’ve heard us talk a lot about living on mission and making disciples, but you’re wondering how does that work in a place as hostile as Kuala Lumpur? This isn’t the easiest place to be a Christian, let alone share my faith with others. And even if I did, how do I even start those conversations?

If those concerns resonate with you, then the letter to the Ephesians is for you.

Ephesians is a theological masterpiece. It contains all the essentials of the Christian faith. And it can easily be divided into 2 sections. The first 3 chapters are filled with gospel indicatives. These are statements of fact about your identity in Christ. The last 3 chapters are filled with gospel imperatives, which means there’s tons of advice on how the gospel applies to all kinds of relationships – marriage, family, work, church.

But as theologically rich and practically helpful as Ephesians is, that doesn’t explain why Paul wrote the letter. Paul wrote Ephesians to help the church walk in a manner worthy of the gospel as they encountered a world hostile to the truth. Let me give you some background:

Ephesus was one of the most intimidating cities in the ancient world. Because of its strategic location and port access, it was a perfect hub for trade across the Roman Empire.
It was also incredibly multicultural. Because of its exports and scholarship it attracted people from all over the ancient world.
Religiously, it was pluralistic. You can understand that. A diversity of people meant a diversity of religious practice, but none were as prominent as the worship of Artemis. Ephesus was home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
- And Artemis was often called the Queen of Heaven. The Ephesians believed her power extended to all things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And we shouldn’t ignore the power dynamics and fear that the spiritual world presents. Artemis was a compelling option to counter the demonic forces.

All that to say, living in a place that’s unfriendly to Christianity is a problem as old as the church. But Paul knew what leads people to be sold out for the mission of God doesn’t come from staring at all the obstacles or by busying ourselves with the work. It comes – first and foremost – from being gripped by the gospel.

Paul did great things for God because he was gripped by the reality that Jesus died and rose for him.

That’s why, before we do anything, we need to start with who we are in Christ. That’s what puts steel in your bones and life in your chest. We’ll put this on the screen – chapter 1:

[v. 3] – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

The idea that God predestines people for certain purposes often raises lots of questions. Like –

Why does God choose some people but not others? Is that fair?
And of course there’s the issue of free will. If God has predestined me, does that infringe on my right to choose?

And we’re going to get into that in a bit, but before we do, I want to acknowledge that this whole first section begins and ends with praise. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us…” & v. 14 says we will gain all the spiritual blessings in Christ to “the praise of his glory.”

Paul’s not trying to be controversial. He’s simply stating what God has done. It’s a matter of fact. Facts aren’t up for debate. If I say to you Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time, as much as I believe it, it’s subjective. It’s debateable. But if I say did you see his brilliance in the World Cup final against France, that’s objective. That’s fact.

You can go watch highlights on YouTube on repeat. Argentina will live in the glory of that victory for as long as soccer is a sport. Paul’s saying you can marvel at the things God has done for you in Christ on repeat. We can live in the glory of Christ’s victory until the day we die and rise again. What God has done for you in Christ will never end.

See, the reason why any of us profess to be Christians is because we put our trust in Jesus alone. We can share our stories of our subjective experience of this objective reality. And we do. But also the reason why any of us can profess to be Christians is because God desired, planned, and accomplished our salvation from start to finish. Paul isn’t denying that we have some responsibility in that. There’s mystery and there’s beauty. Paul’s just emphasizing God’s part in the equation.

And just look at what God does:

V. 3 – He blessed us
V. 4 – He chose us
V. 5 – He predestined and adopted us
V. 6-7 – He gives us grace & redemption
V. 7 – He forgives our sins
V. 8 – He lavishes
V. 9 – He makes known to us the mystery of his will
V. 10 – He brings unity to all things under Christ
V. 11 – He works all things according to the counsel of his will
V. 13 – He seals us with the promised Holy Spirit

God does all of these things to bless us with every spiritual blessing in Christ to the praise of his glory.

What do we do?

[v. 12] –…we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

We hope and obtain by hearing the word of truth and believing the gospel.

Our involvement in being saved is similar to our involvement in being born. We’re significantly involved, but contributed very little in making it happen.

Now, again, people wanna debate about predestination and are you Calvinist and what about free will and that’s a larger discussion that I don’t have time to get into.

But here’s what I will say: I don’t believe when Paul says in v. 4 that God “chose us” and in v. 5 he “predestined us” that he’s somehow found a way to manipulate language to mean something other than what it normally means.

But the idea that God has chosen us in Christ, that he set his love on us before the foundation of the world, and predestined us to be adopted to himself is not that hard to believe. In fact, if you are a Christian, you believe in predestination whether you like using that word or not.

Predestine just means to previously determine one’s fate. If you are in Christ, you believe that God has authored redemption from beginning to end. You can’t even talk about the name Garden City without eventually making some connection to God’s predetermined purposes. Christians believe we will overcome the world because we’re victorious in Christ. That’s not wishful thinking, it’s assurance.

We should believe that God does everything he wills according to his choosing because it’s in the Bible. But this is not a new behavior for God. Throughout the Bible God sets people apart for his special purposes.

He called Abraham to go to a land he didn’t know because he would be a blessing to the nations. He called Moses to confront Pharaoh because he would lead his people into freedom. He called Israel to be his special possession; a kingdom of priests. Do you think he did that because they were so great?

Is that why God chooses us? Do any of you look in the mirror every morning and say to yourself, God, you’re so lucky to have me! Absolutely not!

God chooses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. God actually tells Israel in Deuteronomy 7:7-8 – “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you…”

Does love demand a reason? I think the parent-child relationship gives the best illustration of this. When a baby’s born they are totally at the mercy of their parents’ care. It’s actually a terrifying thought when you think about it. When you’re at the hospital and they tell you you can go home for the first time with that newborn, you’re like, do I have to? I’m responsible to keep another human being alive? Like, is that legal?

But let’s go back even before that. I’ll never forget the moment I first loved my daughter, Esther. It was a Monday morning, and I was running the opening shift at CFA. My wife texted me that morning asking if I would call her when I went on break. Not the norm, so when I called I thought something might be wrong. Is everything okay? And in the most anticlimactic way possible she says, “So, I took a pregnancy test this morning.” Which is only noteworthy in one direction, right?

When she said that, I immediately walked outside. We had been trying for her to get pregnant, and I just wasn’t sure we would ever have this conversation. So, when she said that I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest.

The moment I knew about that child, before she had contributed anything to the world – good or bad – I loved her. God loved you before the foundation of the world.

The God who made all things made you for the purpose of pouring out his love and affection on you for all eternity and blessing you with all the spiritual blessings at his disposal. And not out of necessity. God is sufficient in and of himself. He didn’t need to do it. He wanted to.

Listen, we all know we would give the world to our kids. God gives Christ to his.

Let’s come back to this idea of adoption. Paul says in this love [v. 5] – [God] predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ…”

God chose a people for himself to set his love on and to bless for all eternity. But adoption is really specific. I don’t know how familiar you are with the process of adoption. I’ve helped fill out character references for people who wanted to go through the process of adoption.

My wife was a notary public in the US, and she would sometimes coordinate going to medical appointments to notarize doctor signatures so that the necessary paperwork could get approved. Imagine trying to find a notary to come to a doctor’s appointment with you to sign paperwork. And that’s to say nothing about caring for the child.

Adoption is a long, intrusive, inconvenient, exhausting, labor of love.

If the average person wants to prioritize their comfort and happiness above all else and not have to worry about the stresses of a dwindling bank account – because the cost of kids is exponential + medical bills + therapies + whatever else – adoption is the last thing you’d want to do.

Adoptive parents are choosing – before they even know what they’re getting themselves into – to take on the poverty, the illness, the disease of a child’s condition and to give them access to all their riches and legal standing as a full member of the family.

And Paul’s saying that’s a good metaphor for what God’s chosen to do for you. [v. 7] – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will…

When he says you’ve been redeemed and forgiven, do you understand what that means about the pre-existing conditions God was willing to take on when he adopted you? If you jump over to Ephesians 2 with me, we get a better picture of what’s happening in our adoption.

[2:1] – And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

People get upset with the idea that God would somehow infringe on our right to choose to do what we want. As if all the riches of the world are at our fingertips and God puts a roadblock in the way. But prior to our adoption we were spiritual orphans.

Part of the reason why people pursue adoption is because it’s a matter of urgency. Orphans have the deck stacked against them. From a quick Google search, it’s hard to track exact numbers but multiple sources estimated the average life expectancy of an orphan who never gets adopted could be as low as 30 years. You can take that with a grain of salt, but I think you get the point.

When God says he chose you, he’s not taking neutral people and bending them to his will. He’s taking spiritual orphans who are destined for destruction and giving them a family and a future. What kind of future?

Those who are in Christ are now free to live according to the power of the Spirit. We’ve been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” We can actually cultivate the virtues of Christ. We can live self-controlled, upright lives. God purposed that we would be holy and blameless before him.

But those NOT in Christ follow the course of this world. They live according to the passions of the flesh. And we all understand what that’s like.

That lust for more money, for more sex, for more power, for more comfort. There are spiritual forces at play in this world, and they have a power over us. You may think you’re choosing these things because you’re in agreement with it, but you’re just following the course of this world, and you need to wake up. The real battle begins the moment you try to stop gratifying the flesh and realize you can’t.

So we lie to ourselves. We’ll come up with all kinds of reasons for why we do what we do. You say things like:

I don’t have to be in control. But you burn with anger when your kids don’t listen.
I don’t have a greed problem. But when you walk around the mall there’s all sorts of things your heart covets.
I don’t have a problem with purity. But I often feel bombarded with all kinds of images that draw my attention.

Willpower alone won’t fix these things.

V. 2 says before Christ saved us we followed “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”

The prince of the power of the air is referring to Satan, and the power of the air suggests that his authority reaches every place there’s air to breathe. Meaning, we can give in to temptation all over the place. In our bedrooms, in the shower, in the car, at work, at the mall, at church. When I was new in my faith I was really naive about this. I used to find comfort in thinking that when I read my Bible I would be safe from the enemy’s attacks. He can’t hurt me there. But then I’d go to the Word and I’d get distracted, I’d feel discouraged, I’d feel tempted; all kinds of things.

I’m not suggesting that’s the norm, but man. How many of us know we have freedom in Christ but feel constantly bombarded by temptation and sin?

“I’ve been a Christian for how many years, so why do I still struggle with some of the same things?” And it’s because there are spiritual forces at work we need to be on guard against.

One of the best tricks Satan plays is trying to make Christians believe they’re not chosen and trying to convince non-Christian’s they shouldn’t want to be chosen.

See, Satan wants Christians to keep living as spiritual orphans. Spiritual orphans don’t spend time with God, they often worry about what others think of them, they’re easily offended, they’re quick to tear others down, and they feel powerless to fend off the desires of the flesh.

But in Christ, God says those accusations are baseless. You’re not an orphan. You’re a child of God. Those accusations don’t disqualify you from the family, and we know that because your good works don’t qualify you for the family of God. That’s not what makes you a Christian.

[v. 4] – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

See, we have been adopted and raised to new life only by the grace of God. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

You don’t become a Christian because of something you did. You become a Christian because of something God did for you and you’ve now decided to shift all your trust onto him. Worldly wisdom says to diversify your portfolio. I’ve got my savings. I’ll invest in stocks and property just to make sure if something goes under I’ll be okay. But we don’t need to do that anymore with our eternity. We go all in for Christ. My fate is squarely in his hands, and I’m good with that.

But even as children of God, we still need to fend off Satan’s attacks. The power of the accusing voice is great, but the power of Christ is greater still. Which means you don’t have to listen to him anymore. Instead, you gotta labor to actively take those thoughts captive and to submit ourselves to the truth. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul says, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…”

Which means we should make it our aim to demolish any thought that diminishes the work of Christ in our lives or that leads us to trust in ourselves.

So, if the voices you’re listening to lead you to feel discouraged, isolated, or condemned then that is not from God. And if you are in Christ Jesus, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. God says you now belong to me. You’ve been supplied with my power. And the Holy Spirit always works to bring comfort, to convict of sin that leads to repentance, to teach us the truth, and to empower us to do good works in Christ’s name.

So the next time the Accuser afflicts you with thoughts that tempt you to believe you’re still a spiritual orphan you should ask yourself, “Well, what does God say is true about me?”

In Ephesians 1-2 he says:

I’ve been chosen.
I’ve been adopted.
I’m forgiven.
I’m redeemed.
I’ve been sealed with his Spirit, and my hope is in him.
He has saved me and he will bless me according to the plans he set forth in Christ before the world began.
And it wasn’t because of anything I had done. It was a free gift of God.

So Christian, in these first few chapters of Ephesians Paul wants you to gripped by the gospel. To bask in the glory of your adoption in Christ. God has given you a family and a future, and he’s supplied you with the power to fulfill your purpose as a member of his family.

Understanding this new identity in Christ gives us the confidence to live out our faith with courage and joy. Three things here. Knowing we’re adopted means:

We have peace with God.

Our starting point each day is that we are totally accepted by God in Christ.

Each day as we wake up in the morning, we know there’s no work we can accomplish that would make God love of us any more and there’s no sin we can commit that would make God love us any less.

Our place in the family of God is as assured as Christ is alive because he’s secured our peace through the forgiveness of sins.

So, we don’t despair over our sin anymore or trust in our willpower alone, but we now choose to put our trust in Christ to do for us what we could never do for ourselves all to the glory of God.

We have hope in Christ.

This might be difficult for you because life is filled with despair. You don’t know if you’ll get the job you need. The quality of health care you need. The house is falling apart. Your marriage is a mess. Your kids are crazy. You feel this constant need to please other people. Life feels like burden upon burden.

You might not even be able to see it yourself, but to others looking on, your life has become like a burning bush to them. They see your life lit aflame, but they can’t look away, because it hasn’t burned away yet and they wanna know why.

And you say, even amid all the chaos, I still have this indestructible joy because I know my Savior lives and he lives in me. And while our hope is future, that doesn’t mean we don’t begin to experience that hope here and now. It’s bursting forth.

We have love through the Spirit.

Maybe you’re still wondering, why did God adopt me and not someone else? And if God’s the one who chooses, then is there even a need to share the gospel.

But I just want to say how do you know? When you’re walking around the mall or doing your job at work, what is it about the people you see that makes you think God doesn’t want all of them?

I can’t think of a single example in the Bible where God was to blame for someone not coming to faith in Christ. God’s not obligated to choose any of us. But the fact that he does shouldn’t lead us to think he won’t. It’s more likely that sharing your faith with others will come with great discouragement because people reject Christ. You once rejected Christ.

Paul experienced that. Right before coming to Ephesus he encountered opposition to the gospel, but God’s encouragement was to keep preaching [Acts 18:10] – “for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

Church, God has many people in this city who are his. Who he’s chosen before the foundation of the world, who he’s adopted, and who he desires to know his love.

God always blesses people to be a blessing to others. So God’s choosing of you is just a testimony that he plans to use you to reach others and to multiply his love to the nations. The fact that he’s adopted us should give us confidence to pursue every good work he’s prepared for us to do according to his love.

^[1] Works Consulted:

“Chosen” – Greear
“Saved” – Grear
“God Made You Alive for God” – Piper
Zondervan Exegetical Commentary – Arnold

I’m Adopted (Ephesians 1-2)

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