G20 26 for 2026, Focus on the…Blessings of God

May theme: Focus on the Good
Verse 2. Ephesians 1:3 – Think about how God has blessed us in Christ:

Who doesn’t like to be blessed? When newly crowned King Solomon was asked by God for ANYTHING he wanted, the young king asked for the WISDOM to rule God’s people he had just been appointed king over.

God was so pleased by his answer, that He pointed out how Solomon could have asked for riches, but because Solomon didn’t selfishly ask for that blessing, instead asking for one that would help him fulfill his God-given role as king, God blessed him with riches also.

However, Ephesians 1:3 doesn’t say that we have every MATERIAL blessing in Jesus Christ, but every SPIRITUAL blessing in heaven. Just what in the world…uh, out of this world…did Paul mean?

The heavenly blessings Paul is referring to are detailed in the verses that follow in Ephesians 1.

1. For he **chose** us in Him before the creation of the world to be **holy and blameless in His sight.**

2. In love He **predestined** us for **adoption** to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.

— to the praise of His glorious **grace**, which He has freely given us in the Beloved.

3. In Him we have **redemption** through His blood, the **forgiveness** of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s **grace** that He lavished on us.

4. …with all **wisdom** and **understanding**, He made known to us the **mystery of His will** according to his good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ,

… to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to unite all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

5. In him we were also **chosen**, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

… in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.

6. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were **marked** in Him **with a seal,** the promised **Holy Spirit**…

…Who is a deposit guaranteeing our **inheritance** until the **redemption** of those who are **God’s possession**—to the praise of His glory.

📋 SUMMARY:

1. He chose us (2×)

2. He redeemed (2×) us.

3. He forgave us.

4. He made us holy and blameless in his sight.

1. He freely bestows His grace (2×) on us.

–He gives us:

2. wisdom and

3. understanding; and

4. knowledge of His mystery, the gospel.

1. We are predestined (2×) for adoption.

2. We are sealedwith His Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our future redemption.

3. God will unite all things in Christ, including us.

4. All the saved, both Gentiles and Jews, will be testimonies of praise to God’s glory.

🤔 CONCLUSION:

These are the things that Paul meant by “every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.” Does thinking about these things excite you? Do you feel especially blessed after reading through Paul’s list?

…Yeah, me neither. But I think we should be. That’s probably why it’s a good idea to spend some time this week reading about and thinking about how God has blessed us in our Lord Jesus Christ.

🍎 APPLICATION: While researching for this blog, I ran across the following list of ten affirmations from this Ephesians passage that I share as something that might be helpful to do as part of your personal devotion on a regular basis: