June 2026
Blessings, 7 June 2027
10 06 26 Filed in: Sermons | Ephesians: Our True Identity
Blessings
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 7, 2026
Ephesians 1:3-14
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: We have been blessed by God because we are in Christ.
In 2011, more than 500 churches in Metro Detroit participated in an outreach campaign called EACH: everyone a chance to hear. The idea was for people to create a personal two-word story to generate conversations. Examples included:
Peace? Peace
Significant? Significant
Loved? Loved
People were then directed to a website filled with stories of people encountering Jesus.
The big question at the time was, “What’s your word?” After thought and prayer, I realized my word was blessed.
After last week’s intro by Dr. David Odegard, today we dive into our series Ephesians: Finding our True Identity. Today’s text focuses on this word blessings.
What are blessings?
The Greek word in our scripture reading is “eulogeo” which means “to thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper, praise.” We can bless the LORD, praise the LORD. We can bless others, thanking them, praising them, seeking their prosperity.
When someone sneezes, people often say, “Bless you” or the German “Gesundheit” which means “health.” In Spanish, the word “salud” is used.
Most of my e-mails end with the closing, “Blessings, Kirk.” It’s not an auto-generated signature…on purpose. I manually type “blessings.” I have been blessed to be a blessing.
In the first book of the Bible, God said to Abram,
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
Thousands of years later, it’s appropriate to say we’ve been blessed to be a blessing.
Today’s scripture reading was quite long. In the original Greek, it was one, run-on sentence! English teachers today would tell Paul, “Use a period!” Fortunately, Bible translators did. Let’s go!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
The first word “praise” in Hebrew means blessing. Here we see two members of the Trinity, Father and Son (and later the Holy Spirit). This Father/Son relationship is not biological, but theological. They are both eternal and equal, both God.
Followers of Jesus are blessed. Perhaps our greatest blessing is reconciliation with God through the cross. This includes eternal salvation, but we don’t have to wait around until death to experience the blessings. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing which includes the power of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, and the constant presence of the Spirit.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
If you are a follower of Jesus, your primary identity is “in Christ.” We’ll see this expression dozens of times throughout this series. It means essentially whatever God the Father says about Jesus, he says about you. Whatever is true about Jesus is true of you, because you are in Christ. You are on his team.
Think of it this way: the Dodgers won the World Series last year.
Shohei Ohtani, .333 batting average, 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, 6 runs, 9 hits
Alex Call, .143 batting average, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 1 hit
Justin Dean, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 at bats!
They all received the same championship ring!
When we join Team Jesus, we get to wear his ring, put on his uniform, and we’re united with him. His blessings, people, future, status, and life become ours. This is living in union with Christ. It’s more than just a mental belief. It’s an existential reality!
Jesus taught this in John 15 when we said he is the vine and we are the branches. We share the life of the vine. The branches only produce fruit when connected to the vine, and we only produce good fruit when we’re connected to Jesus.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (Ephesians 1:4-6)
This introduces one of the great debates in the Christian faith. Do we choose God or does God choose us? The answer is…yes!
Am I married because I asked Heather to marry me, or because she said, “Yes?”
Here Paul says followers of Jesus were chosen…before the world was created! Similarly, God chose the people of Israel as His treasure. It can be said if you are a Christian God adopted us into His family.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8a)
Redemption refers to the idea of paying to set a slave free, to redeem, to exchange. That happens for us through the cross, the blood of Jesus we will remember today through communion. It also grants us the forgiveness of our sins. God’s grace is lavished on us, unmerited favor, we deserve nothing, we did nothing, it’s a free gift that simply needs to be received.
Have you said “yes” to Jesus? Are you responding to his simple invitation to follow him? He did the heavy lifting, suffering and dying. He wants to lead us, shepherd us, guide us, but like any sheep, we can choose to follow or stray. Where are you today?
This is not a one-time decision, but a daily choice to obey or disobey, to let Jesus take the wheel or put him in the trunk, so to speak.
With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:8b-10)
From the beginning of time, God had a plan for humanity, but it was a mystery until Jesus the Messiah accomplished his assignment. This is not to say it’s mysterious, but rather it has been kept secret and is now revealed. God’s Kingdom is now open to Jews and Gentiles who repent.
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, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11-12)
The “we” here likely refers to Paul’s ethnicity, the Jews. It’s impossible for us to fully understand the tensions and distinctions between Jew and Gentile, but here here’s highlighting Jews who follow Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. Fortunately, Gentiles are included.
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, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’ve heard the gospel, the good news, the message of truth, the message that Jesus is LORD and we are invited to follow him and experience salvation, abundant life, peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit.
We’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit. We talked about this two weeks ago on Pentecost Sunday. Back in the day, a seal meant protection and ownership. The Holy Spirit seals us. We belong to God. Our salvation is secure, a guarantee that we are God’s and we will spend now and forever with Him. We are able to experience glimpses of the Kingdom of God in this life, but the next will be the fulfillment of life with God. I can’t wait!
So What?
If you’ve never said “yes” to Jesus, what are you waiting for? The benefits are endless. The blessings are eternal. The forgiveness lasts forever. The peace and joy are indescribable. The freedom is incredible. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, I give you my life.” Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to activate the benefits of the cross and empty tomb. Today is the day to begin your journey. Mark this as your spiritual birthday, and if that’s you, please tell me. I’d love to meet you in the lobby or send me a simple e-mail.
If you’ve said yes to Jesus, today is a reminder of how you’ve been
• Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
• Chosen by God before the foundation of the world.
• Adopted into His family with full rights and inheritance.
• Redeemed and forgiven through the blood of Jesus.
• Sealed with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing your future.
After you sneeze and someone says, “Bless you,” what do you say? Thank you.
Today, your next step may be to simply say to God, “Thank you.” We can do that through words, songs, giving, volunteering, praying, being still, paying attention, sharing our faith, and speaking God’s love language of obedience. We are blessed. Hallelujah!
Ephesians: Finding Our True Identity
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
June 7, 2026
Ephesians 1:3-14
Series Big Idea: For followers of Jesus, we find our true identity in Christ.
Big Idea: We have been blessed by God because we are in Christ.
In 2011, more than 500 churches in Metro Detroit participated in an outreach campaign called EACH: everyone a chance to hear. The idea was for people to create a personal two-word story to generate conversations. Examples included:
Peace? Peace
Significant? Significant
Loved? Loved
People were then directed to a website filled with stories of people encountering Jesus.
The big question at the time was, “What’s your word?” After thought and prayer, I realized my word was blessed.
After last week’s intro by Dr. David Odegard, today we dive into our series Ephesians: Finding our True Identity. Today’s text focuses on this word blessings.
What are blessings?
The Greek word in our scripture reading is “eulogeo” which means “to thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper, praise.” We can bless the LORD, praise the LORD. We can bless others, thanking them, praising them, seeking their prosperity.
When someone sneezes, people often say, “Bless you” or the German “Gesundheit” which means “health.” In Spanish, the word “salud” is used.
Most of my e-mails end with the closing, “Blessings, Kirk.” It’s not an auto-generated signature…on purpose. I manually type “blessings.” I have been blessed to be a blessing.
In the first book of the Bible, God said to Abram,
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
Thousands of years later, it’s appropriate to say we’ve been blessed to be a blessing.
Today’s scripture reading was quite long. In the original Greek, it was one, run-on sentence! English teachers today would tell Paul, “Use a period!” Fortunately, Bible translators did. Let’s go!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
The first word “praise” in Hebrew means blessing. Here we see two members of the Trinity, Father and Son (and later the Holy Spirit). This Father/Son relationship is not biological, but theological. They are both eternal and equal, both God.
Followers of Jesus are blessed. Perhaps our greatest blessing is reconciliation with God through the cross. This includes eternal salvation, but we don’t have to wait around until death to experience the blessings. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing which includes the power of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, and the constant presence of the Spirit.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
If you are a follower of Jesus, your primary identity is “in Christ.” We’ll see this expression dozens of times throughout this series. It means essentially whatever God the Father says about Jesus, he says about you. Whatever is true about Jesus is true of you, because you are in Christ. You are on his team.
Think of it this way: the Dodgers won the World Series last year.
Shohei Ohtani, .333 batting average, 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, 6 runs, 9 hits
Alex Call, .143 batting average, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 1 hit
Justin Dean, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 at bats!
They all received the same championship ring!
When we join Team Jesus, we get to wear his ring, put on his uniform, and we’re united with him. His blessings, people, future, status, and life become ours. This is living in union with Christ. It’s more than just a mental belief. It’s an existential reality!
Jesus taught this in John 15 when we said he is the vine and we are the branches. We share the life of the vine. The branches only produce fruit when connected to the vine, and we only produce good fruit when we’re connected to Jesus.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (Ephesians 1:4-6)
This introduces one of the great debates in the Christian faith. Do we choose God or does God choose us? The answer is…yes!
Am I married because I asked Heather to marry me, or because she said, “Yes?”
Here Paul says followers of Jesus were chosen…before the world was created! Similarly, God chose the people of Israel as His treasure. It can be said if you are a Christian God adopted us into His family.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8a)
Redemption refers to the idea of paying to set a slave free, to redeem, to exchange. That happens for us through the cross, the blood of Jesus we will remember today through communion. It also grants us the forgiveness of our sins. God’s grace is lavished on us, unmerited favor, we deserve nothing, we did nothing, it’s a free gift that simply needs to be received.
Have you said “yes” to Jesus? Are you responding to his simple invitation to follow him? He did the heavy lifting, suffering and dying. He wants to lead us, shepherd us, guide us, but like any sheep, we can choose to follow or stray. Where are you today?
This is not a one-time decision, but a daily choice to obey or disobey, to let Jesus take the wheel or put him in the trunk, so to speak.
With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:8b-10)
From the beginning of time, God had a plan for humanity, but it was a mystery until Jesus the Messiah accomplished his assignment. This is not to say it’s mysterious, but rather it has been kept secret and is now revealed. God’s Kingdom is now open to Jews and Gentiles who repent.
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, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11-12)
The “we” here likely refers to Paul’s ethnicity, the Jews. It’s impossible for us to fully understand the tensions and distinctions between Jew and Gentile, but here here’s highlighting Jews who follow Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. Fortunately, Gentiles are included.
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, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’ve heard the gospel, the good news, the message of truth, the message that Jesus is LORD and we are invited to follow him and experience salvation, abundant life, peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit.
We’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit. We talked about this two weeks ago on Pentecost Sunday. Back in the day, a seal meant protection and ownership. The Holy Spirit seals us. We belong to God. Our salvation is secure, a guarantee that we are God’s and we will spend now and forever with Him. We are able to experience glimpses of the Kingdom of God in this life, but the next will be the fulfillment of life with God. I can’t wait!
So What?
If you’ve never said “yes” to Jesus, what are you waiting for? The benefits are endless. The blessings are eternal. The forgiveness lasts forever. The peace and joy are indescribable. The freedom is incredible. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, I give you my life.” Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to activate the benefits of the cross and empty tomb. Today is the day to begin your journey. Mark this as your spiritual birthday, and if that’s you, please tell me. I’d love to meet you in the lobby or send me a simple e-mail.
If you’ve said yes to Jesus, today is a reminder of how you’ve been
• Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
• Chosen by God before the foundation of the world.
• Adopted into His family with full rights and inheritance.
• Redeemed and forgiven through the blood of Jesus.
• Sealed with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing your future.
After you sneeze and someone says, “Bless you,” what do you say? Thank you.
Today, your next step may be to simply say to God, “Thank you.” We can do that through words, songs, giving, volunteering, praying, being still, paying attention, sharing our faith, and speaking God’s love language of obedience. We are blessed. Hallelujah!