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The following blog is a summary of a message preached by Pastor Doc Shell.

Watch the Sermon HERE!

Many people carry a quiet weight when it comes to their faith. They wonder if they are doing enough, if God truly accepts them, or if salvation is something they have to earn. The opening chapter of Ephesians cuts through all of that noise with a simple but profound truth: every spiritual blessing available to a believer is found in Christ alone.

What Does "Every Spiritual Blessing" Actually Mean?

Paul opens the book of Ephesians by telling his readers that every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is available to them in Christ. He goes on to unpack what those blessings look like: adoption, predestination, election, forgiveness, being sealed with the Spirit, your inheritance, your identity, and more.

The key phrase is "in Christ." Not in your performance. Not in your religious effort. In Christ.

Think of it this way. Imagine a box that contains every spiritual blessing God has for you. Every single one of them is inside that box. When you place your faith in Jesus and are saved, the Holy Spirit places you into Christ. You are now inside that box. Everything in it belongs to you. But none of it is available outside of it.

Does God Choose Some People to Be Saved and Others to Be Lost?

Ephesians 1:4 says God "chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love." This verse has sparked a lot of theological debate, and it is worth addressing honestly.

Some traditions teach that God individually selects certain people for salvation and passes over others entirely. But Scripture is clear on this point:

  • "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
  • "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
  • "He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

John also writes in 1 John 2:2: "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Jesus died for all people. Not all people will be saved, but the invitation is open to everyone. John the Baptist declared it plainly: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)

What Is Corporate Election and Why Does It Matter?

The word "us" in Ephesians 1:4 is plural and points to what is called corporate election. God made a decision before the foundation of the world: everyone who calls on the name of His Son, who places their faith in Jesus Christ crucified and risen, will be brought into His family by His Spirit.

The Holy Spirit convicts when the gospel is preached. But not everyone who is convicted responds. Some wrestle with it and walk away. No one will stand before God and say they wanted to be saved but were not chosen. The door is open. The choice is real.

God's plan was set in motion long before creation. He knew Adam would fall. He did not cause it, but He knew it. And so before the world was ever formed, He prepared a remedy through Jesus Christ.

What Does It Mean to Be Predestined?

Predestination is another word that can feel heavy or confusing. Break it down simply: "pre" means before, and "destiny" means your future. God determined your destiny ahead of time.

Ephesians 1:5 says He "predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will."

God did not set things up so you would have to earn your way in. He chose to make you His child. He could have required you to work for it. He could have made you a servant. Instead, He chose adoption. He wanted you as His own.

What Does Biblical Adoption Mean for Believers?

Paul wrote Ephesians in the context of Roman law, where adoption carried enormous weight. An adopted child received a new name, a new family, and a standing equal to or even greater than a natural-born child. Nothing could reverse it. The adoptive parent was legally bound to provide for and protect that child.

That is the picture God paints for us. When you trust Christ, you are adopted into His family. You receive His name. You are under His care. Your standing before Him is secure, not because of what you have done, but because of what He has done.

Picture an adoptive parent sweeping a child up in their arms in that moment when everything becomes official. That child, regardless of their background or what they have been through, is now fully and completely loved and claimed. That is what God has done for you.

Why Does God Do All of This?

Ephesians 1:6 gives the answer: "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved."

Everything, the planning, the predestination, the choosing, the adoption, all of it flows from grace. His unmerited favor. His goodness. His kindness. His mercy. Grace is the engine behind the entire plan of salvation.

And notice the result: He has made us accepted in the beloved. "The beloved" refers to Jesus, God's own Son. In John 17, just hours before the cross, Jesus prayed that those who believe would know that the Father loves them the same way He loves His Son.

That is not a small statement. That is the gospel in its fullest expression.

What About Rejection and Feeling Like You Are Not Enough?

Most people have felt rejected at some point. They have felt like they did not measure up, were not chosen, or were not wanted. The enemy uses those wounds to distort our view of God.

But the cross tells a different story. God the Father looked away as His Son bore the weight of sin. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). The Father endured that separation so that He would never have to look away from you.

When He looks at you now, He sees you in Christ. He sees you as accepted. He sees you as His child.

Religion vs. Relationship: Are You on a Treadmill?

There is a subtle but important difference between doing spiritual things to earn God's favor and doing them to draw closer to Him.

Reading the Bible, praying, fasting, and gathering with other believers are not tools to earn a better life or force a breakthrough. They are pathways into deeper relationship with God. And it is out of that relationship, that union with Christ, that real transformation happens.

Jesus said in John 15 that He is the vine and we are the branches. The branch does not strain to produce fruit. It simply stays connected to the vine. The fruit comes naturally from the union.

You are already in Christ. Rest in that. Receive from that place. Release what He produces through you. That is a very different posture than striving and straining and hoping you have done enough.

Life Application

This week, identify one area of your faith where you have been striving to earn God's approval rather than resting in what He has already done. It might be a habit of prayer driven by guilt, a pattern of service motivated by fear, or a quiet belief that you are not quite accepted yet.

Choose one spiritual practice this week, whether reading Scripture, praying, or serving, and do it with a single purpose: to draw closer to God, not to earn anything from Him. Let the motive shift from performance to relationship.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:

  • Do I truly believe that God has already accepted me in Christ, or am I still trying to earn that acceptance?
  • Where in my life am I living like a servant trying to earn favor rather than a child who is already loved?
  • What would change about how I pray, serve, or read the Bible if I believed my standing before God was already secure in Christ?
  • Am I pursuing spiritual disciplines to get closer to God, or to get something from God?

Every spiritual blessing is already yours in Christ. You are chosen. You are adopted. You are accepted in the beloved. The invitation is simply to live like it is true.