Seeing What We Were Made For

I. We Were Made to Participate in the Life of God
A. Finding all our resources in God - Eph. 1:1-2
B. Recipients of every spiritual blessing in Christ - Eph. 1:3
1. Incorporated into His relationship with the Father - Eph. 1:3a
2. Chosen in Him with a purpose - Eph. 1:4a; 2 Tim. 1:9
a) Existing in His presence in love - Eph. 1:4b
3. Predestinated unto the rights and privileges of the Son - Eph. 1:5a
a) God's motive in our predestination - Eph. 1:5b
4. Graced in the Beloved (the One being Loved) - Eph. 1:6
a) Including redemption and forgiveness, negatively - Eph. 1:7
b) Including abounding grace toward us, positively - Eph. 1:8
(1) Dealing with us in wisdom and prudence
c) Including the disclosure of the secret of the universe - Eph. 1:9a
(1) God's motive in His disclosure - Eph. 1:9b
(2) God's purpose in His disclosure - Eph. 1:10
d) Including being participators in God's administration of the universe
- Eph. 1:10
(1) By being headed up - Eph. 1:10; Col. 2:19
(2) By being made an inheritance - Eph. 1:11a
(3) By being under God's operation - Eph. 1:11b
(4) By recognizing God's order - Eph. 1:12-13a
(5) By responding to the gospel - Eph. 1:13
(6) By receiving the Spirit as the beginning of a process that will consummate in God's finished work over us - Eph. 1:14
II. We Were Made to be the Expression of the Fullness of Christ
A. The persons who make up His fullness - Eph. 1:15-16
B. The revelation of the church as His fullness - 1:17-19
1. The organ that brings in revelation - 1:17 - ". . a spirit . ."
2. The area that receives the revelation - 1:18a - ". .The eyes of your heart . ."
3. The factor that imparts the revelation - 1:17 - "the full knowledge of Him."
4. The content of the revelation - 1:18b-23
a) Seeing the church from eternity past - 1:18b
- " what is the hope of His calling . ."
b) Seeing the church in eternity future - 1:18c
- " what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints"
c) Seeing the power to produce the church in time - 1:19
- ". . what is . . His power toward us . ."
C. The nature of His power that produces the church - 1:19-23
1. The extent of the power - 1:19a - "surpassing greatness of His power."
2. The direction of His power - 1:19a - ". . toward us who believe . ."
3. The anatomy of His power - 1:19b - ". . operation . . might . . strength . ."
4. The concentration of His power - 1:20a - ". . operate in Christ . ."
5. The history of His power - 1:20b-22a - ". . in raising Him . . seating Him . . far above all . . all things under His feet"
6. The receipient of His power - 1:22b-23 - ". . to the church . . His Body . ."