The Bride is Blessed with Every Spiritual Blessing

1. Read: Ephesians 1:3

2. About the Text:

1) The book of Ephesians is all about the church, the beautiful bride of Christ.

2) To be clear, the church is not some abstract concept; it is people.

3) When we speak about the church, we are speaking about ourselves.

4) Jesus Christ wants the church to be without spot and blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

5) How does He accomplish this?

6) It is through the blessings that He gives to His bride.

7) This year, we will talk about many of these great blessings.

8) This lesson is designed to introduce us to the nature of these blessings.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. These blessings are a gift from God.

1) When you give a gift to a bride, what do you expect?

a. She will keep the gift.

b. She will appreciate the gift.

c. She will use the gift.

2) Likewise, these spiritual blessings are God’s gifts to the bride of Christ.

a. God wants us to hold onto them – “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Revelation 3:11).

b. He wants us to appreciate them – “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:4).

c. He wants us to use them – “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

3) They come through Jesus Christ.

a. Through His life, teaching, and sacrifice.

b. Through the teaching of the gospel.

c. These gifts are in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3).

d. They are only for the bride.

e. They cannot be accessed outside of Christ Jesus.

2. These blessings are by the grace and favor of God.

1) Being a bride does not earn a single gift!

a. The bride comes to the wedding with nothing.

b. In our culture, traditionally, the father of the bride pays for the wedding.

c. Her sole duty is to prepare herself for the wedding.

2) The church did nothing to earn these blessings.

a. The alien sinner comes to the wedding with nothing (Ephesians 2:8).

b. The Father has paid for the wedding with the blood of the Son – “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).

c. He/she must prepare himself for the wedding by following God’s plan for salvation – Hear (Romans 10:17), Believe (Hebrews 11:6), Repent (Acts 17:30), Confess (Romans 10:10), Be Baptized (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16).

3. God does not take back His gifts!

1) Human gifts are not like God’s gifts.

a. They are sometimes given back.

b. They get old and wear out.

c. They get lost or stolen.

2) God gives freely to the bride.

a. God will never take them back – “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).

b. They will never get old and wear out – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

c. They will never get lost or stolen by another.

d. God is faithful with His gifts! – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

3) The bride may, however, reject the gifts.

a. “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward” (Hebrews 10:25).

b. What kind of bride would this be?

1. These blessings are designed for faithfulness.

1) Faithful to the bridegroom.

a. “yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith” (Colossians 1:22-23).

b. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

2) Faithful to the bride’s work.

a. “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

b. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

2. These blessings are designed for growth.

1) For exhortation.

a. “but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).

b. “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

2) For correction.

a. “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:9-10).

b. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

3) For doing good works.

a. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

b. “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

3. These blessings are designed for reproduction – evangelism.

1) “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8).

2) “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God” (Romans 7:4).

1. The blessings are for the bride alone.

1) “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

2) “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

3) “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

2. The blessings are not for any others who are not the bride.

1) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

2) “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28).

3. The bride is defined by the bridegroom alone.

1) “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

2) “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

3) There are many false brides in the world today.

a. “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).

b. “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted” (Matthew 15:13).

4) Jesus will only accept one bride.

a. “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

b. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

1. The blessings for the Bride are . . .

1) Endowed

2) Enriching

3) Exclusive

2. We will be discussing the specific blessings on the first Sunday each month.

3. Invitation