Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Female): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: Shabbat Shalom, everyone. Let's open our Bibles today to the book of Ephesians. We are studying in the Brit Chadashah, in the New Covenant, and we began already, if you remember, we dealt with the introduction to this amazing epistle, amazing letter that Sha’ul, Paul, wrote to early believers, a letter to the Ephesians, El Ha-Efesim. I want to read today from verse 3 all the way to verse 14, and please follow me as we are reading this portion.

Guest (Male): Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Gideon Levytam: I stop here in verse 14 in the reading of this first chapter because there is a nice break here in the context of that first chapter. It's very encouraging to see as we read these verses 3 to 14, that in this first chapter of this epistle, the Apostle Paul, of whom we already gave the introduction in a previous meeting together, the Apostle Paul now write to the believers at Ephesus and show them the riches that they have, and you and I as well, because of the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah.

I mentioned in the introduction that many times you and I who are believers in our Lord Jesus the Messiah do not enjoy and not even realizing the spiritual wealth that we possess in the Mashiach, in Christ. Oftentimes, we live our lives as believers in a sense as poor believers because we don't appreciate sufficiently what Yeshua the Messiah has done for us.

So brothers and sisters, in this first chapter, the Apostle Paul introduced before us all the three persons of the Godhead, showing to us their involvement in this great work of salvation. Not only God the Father, not only God the Son, and not only God the Holy Spirit, Ruach HaKodesh. Abba, Ben, Ruach—all the triune persons of the Godhead were involved in this great salvation that God provided for this world.

So he is writing now, after the introduction in verses 1 and 2, where he wished the grace, the chen, and the peace, the shalom, that will be upon those believers at Ephesus. Then you notice that in verses 3 to 14, he presents before them the triune God and what God have done for the believers in Yeshua the Messiah.

First of all, he presents God the Father in verses 3 to 6. Then he presents God the Son in verses 7 to 12, and finally in this context, he presents God the Holy Spirit in verses 13 and 14. I would like us to kind of follow please with me verse by verse as we continue in the study of Ephesians. Now, you notice first of all in verse 3, he's writing to the brothers and sisters at Ephesus and he says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, in Mashiach, in Messiah."

Now notice he's saying three things here immediately in verse 3. The first thing he does, he shows us who is the one that is the source of all the blessings that believers possess. That word for blessing really is the praising. It's not the same word in the Greek that we have in Matthew chapter 5, "Blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers." It's a bit different word. There it's something else, it has to do with the word "happy", but here it has to do with the word "praise".

He is ascribing praise to God the Father and he's saying, "Look, praise be unto God the Father." This is the Abba of our Lord Jesus. Remember how many times Yeshua, when he was on earth, spoke about the Father? To our Jewish people, when the Messiah spoke about the Father, immediately it was very difficult for our people to accept him. God, Jesus, has a Father? God is his own Father? In other words, does God have a Son?

Well, you remember in John 10, Yeshua says, "I and my Father are one." In other words, God the Son, the Messiah, has a Father, and here we find out that the source of the blessing that we received as believers is really God the Father. And God the Father in verse 3, he had blessed us, and notice he's the source of all the blessings that we have today in our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

Notice that he's telling us a few things here in this verse. He says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, and notice that, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings." Now I'll pause here for a moment. The word for all should be really changed to "every". Not only a lump sum, but every detail, every spiritual blessing that you and I have today, the source of all this blessing is none else but God the Father.

And you notice he said, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who had blessed us with every..." Now notice that he said, "...spiritual blessings." He doesn't talk here about material blessings, though we have to admit the Lord had blessed us immensely with physical and material blessings here in this world. But the blessings that God the Father had provided for us are spiritual blessings.

Of course, if a person is not a believer, he or she do not have anything to do with those spiritual blessings. It's only for believers. The Apostle Paul writing to the local assembly at Ephesus understanding that they are believers, they have already accepted Yeshua the Messiah. But the spiritual blessing... and sometimes we wonder what the meaning of the spiritual blessing that the Lord had provided for his own people.

These blessings are benefits that we have that connected with our salvation as we live our lives together in relationship with God. In other words, in order for us to enjoy a relationship with the living God, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Upholder of all things, for us those spiritual blessings enable us to live our life with all the benefits that are connected with our relationship with the living God.

Do you know only a believer can speak to a living God as his Father and have those benefits? Joys in our hearts that we can speak to a living God and we can share with him the burdens on our hearts, and we can hear his word and live with him and for him here in this world. And so he's saying to them that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.

Now, to Israel, our people, in addition to many spiritual blessings that Israel have received, if you remember in Deuteronomy chapter 28, God said to Israel our people how he is going to bless the people of Israel if they will obey him. But there it's not so much emphasizing the spiritual blessings but the material blessing in the land of Israel.

You remember what he said in Deuteronomy chapter 28? "It shall come to pass, if you shall harken diligently unto the voice of the Lord your God, and to observe all the commandment which I commanded thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. And these are all the blessings shall come upon thee and overtake thee. Blessed shall thou be in the city, and blessed shall thou be in the field, and blessed you shall have the fruit of your body," and so on.

This is Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 5, "Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed thou shall be when you come in and blessed thou shall be when you goest out." In other words, God is saying to Israel, "You will have physical literal blessing in the land if you will obey my voice."

But to the believers in the church age, our blessings are not physical necessarily, but spiritual blessings. And notice it says at the end of verse 3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing." But where are those blessings? It says "in heavenly places". This expression "in heavenly places" should be really said "in the heavenlies".

It is a realm whereby we can live and enjoy a relationship with a living God while we are still here upon the face of this earth. You know someone said that every one of us who is a believer, we live in two spheres. We live in the human sphere, we are here on earth, but we also live in the divine sphere, we can relate to a living God.

Then we also read that every believer live in invisible and in the visible. The visible is what we see today with our eyes, but we also live in the realm of the invisible, meaning that we know things because God's word teaches us that others do not comprehend and understand the invisible realm.

Another point here in connection with the two spheres that we also live in the sphere of the physical, here and now, but also in the realm and the sphere of the spiritual. In other words, you remember what we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness unto him." But the spiritual man, the believer, he can understand them and appreciate them.

And it is amazing what a privilege we have. It is God the Father who is the source and he had blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. But notice he doesn't stop here. He adds at the end of this verse, "in Christ, in Mashiach, in Messiah, in Christo." What does that mean? That everything that we have, we received it because of the person of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

It's not on our own, we didn't gain it on our own, we didn't earn it on our own, but it's all linked with Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus. In Adam, all died. In Messiah, all were made alive. In Adam, we inherited a sin nature, in the Messiah we have inherited a new nature, a divine nature, a nature we are now born from above, children of this Father from heaven.

And you remember John 1 said, "He came unto his own and his own received him not." And then he says, "But as many as received him, to them he gave the authority to be called the children of God, even to them that believe on his name." John 1 verse 12. "Which were born not of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but they were born of God, born from above."

It's amazing because really we are passing through here in this world, and all the trials that we experience here in this world are really temporarily because we are heading to the Father's house where we are going to be spending eternity with our blessed Lord Yeshua the Messiah. So everything we possess, brothers and sisters, in our spiritual relationship with God, it is because of the person of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

So precious for us to realize this in this verse 3 that we have before us. So I want just to emphasize this expression "in the heavenlies". You notice that a few times the book of Ephesians point to this expression "in the heavenly". The word "heavenly places", it should be really "in the heavenlies". Not in heaven yet, but in the heavenly realm.

Notice for example, if you turn in chapter 1, look at verse 20 for a moment. It says, "Which he wrought in the Messiah when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, or in the heavenlies." Notice chapter 2 and verse 6, and this is amazing. It says he has raised us now together and he made us to sit together in heavenly places in the Messiah Yeshua.

Now how is it possible that you and I positionally are seated in the heavenly places or in the heavenlies, but practically we're here now in this world, in this earth? Now it is only possible because we have to understand the distinction between the positional truth and the practical truth. Positionally, when the Lord look at you and I, he sees you and I as we are already seated next to Yeshua the Messiah in the heavenlies, in heaven.

But practically, we're here now as we are here today at the meeting sharing the word of God, singing to him, praising him while we are here upon the face of this earth. So you notice again and again he uses the word "the heavenlies" in this chapter. In chapter 3 and verse 10, the apostle point again when he says here, "To the intent that now unto the principalities and power in heavenly places might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God."

We're going to get to these verses later on, but I just wanted you to see that many times using the word "the heavenlies" in this book of Ephesians. Chapter 6 and verse 12, he also says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." This is the same expression, in a heavenly realm, in heavenly places.

So he began by introducing to us the Father. He is the source of the blessing that you and I have. He blessed us not with material blessing necessarily, though he have, but it is with spiritual blessing. It is in the heavenlies or heavenly realm and it is linked with the person of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Wonderful truths to understand. If you are a believer today, we can be assured that we have received these blessings from the Lord in heavenly places and it is because of what Yeshua the Messiah have done for us.

And now he's moving on and in verse 4, 5, and 6 he adding some of the things that we have received from God the Father, HaAbba. Notice he says here in verse 4 that the Father have chosen us. Now you know oftentimes we think that we have chosen God. Now we have to quickly realize, if we knew our hearts well, we will know very well that man by nature love darkness rather than light. We have this actually in John chapter 3 and verse 19.

Men by nature, we don't love God by nature. Had we loved God, we would have come to him long time ago. And even when we have already come to him, we would have lived a life that it will be suitable for the presence of the Lord at all times. But we know very well the old nature does not really want the will of God and we are struggling with that all the time.

And that's why we find out that God in his wisdom have chosen us. Now this is where a lot of people having a problem with. The truth of election is oftentimes troubling a lot of people. And I can understand that because in the body of Messiah today we have those two groups, those who believe in what you call Calvinistic teaching and those who believe in the Arminian's teaching.

The Calvinistic teaching believe that there is total inability of man to come to God. Man is depraved by nature. And those who believe in what you call Arminianism, they believe that there is a free will and there is a human ability to come to God on his own.

And that's where we have these two views today and we are struggling with that to find a good balance because the Bible does teach us "whosoever will". But the Bible clearly teach us that we have been elected and chosen by God. And look at this verse 4, "According as he has chosen us..." and notice that, brothers and sisters, he chosen us in him, in the Messiah, but he chosen us before the foundation of the world.

Now where were you before the foundation of the world? Some of us are 70, 80, 90. Where were you before 90 years ago? And since creation, we know it's at least around nearly about 6,000 years since creation of Adam and the creation... where was Adam before the foundation of the world? Now if the Bible say before the foundation of the world, don't you think that we should simply accept what the Bible say?

Why do we have to be complicating everything? And that's our own problem in theology. Oftentimes we just don't accept what the Bible say. And so it says here, he have, listen to that, "According as he has chosen us in the Messiah before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

And so what God did in his wisdom, and you know you and I were not there to give him counsel. We didn't tell him whom to choose and whom not to choose. And who we do not know at all. We are simply one of those people that have been privileged to open our hearts and to accept Yeshua the Messiah, but to realize that God have elected the believer already before the foundation of the world.

And you ask me, Brother Gideon, explain this to me. I can't. I can only tell you what I'm reading and you'll have to read it for yourself. You can maybe try to explain it otherwise. But let me just give you an illustration that I thought it was very helpful. Sometime when we hear the message of the Gospel and we see an unbeliever convicted, they realize that they are sinners, that they are not right with God and they need to settle matter with God before it is too late. Because if they will not settle matters with God, they will have to be judged at the great white throne judgment.

So they are so convicted that they accept the message of the Gospel. And they say, "God, I have accepted what you offer to me, Yeshua the Messiah, and I am embracing him as my Lord and my savior." And they become believers and they become part of a local assembly, a local church, local fellowship and they begin to grow. And as they grow, they realize, "You know what? It is really God who searched for me, who elected me in eternity past. And in time he sent the Spirit of God through a messenger to present to me the message of the Gospel."

And he quickened me. He worked in my heart and he softened my heart and I have embraced the Messiah. He convicted me and he drew me unto himself. And then we come to the Lord and so while we look at this door and we see a sign "Whosoever will let him come" and we came in, we became believers, but when we come in, we look at the same door and at the top of it it says another sign, "Chosen from before the foundation of the world." And we realize that in the eternal plan of God, he have elected whom he have elected. Nobody gave him counsel, we were not there to tell him what to do, neither can we tell him what to do today. That's the way the Scripture presented. And so what we find out that he have chosen us in the Messiah before the foundation of the world, beloved brothers and sisters.

Guest (Female): You have been listening to Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0 or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com.

You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.