Our Divine Inheritance

Ephesians 1:3-14

Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

The letter to the Ephesians is unique. Scholars generally agree the apostle Paul did not write Ephesians, but a later student of Paul’s did – perhaps even after Paul’s death. As a result, some folks do not give much credence to Ephesians, because Paul is the celebrity disciple and legendary theological letter writer, so why bother with Ephesians if Paul didn’t write it? The Ephesians author is nameless, but we appropriately embrace the anonymous letter because it is written using Paul’s style and theology. We can appreciate that the Bible contains this letter written later, as followers of Jesus were figuring out how to be both individual believers and communities of faith, yet also inseparably connected to all other believers in Christ. Ephesians is beautiful, theologically deep, and full of glorious assurances of God’s unbreakable love for humankind. So relax your soul and be open to joy as you listen for the word of God from the first chapter of the letter to the Ephesians.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Many people feel disinherited. Scripture may talk about a divine inheritance but lots of people sense life has essentially written them out of its will. Ephesians talks about blessings and promises and lavishing grace, but circumstances in many day-to-day lives are better described with terms like feeling depressed, ashamed, or a failure. How many people walk around with a resting angry face on? It makes one ask, “Where does all that anger come from?” Life seems so difficult for some folks; they never seem to be happy about anything. Their unhappiness may have started in childhood when no matter what they did they felt they could never please the parents or make them proud. An 82-year-old woman, very ill with cancer, admitted to a friend her mother had never said she loved her. As this frail woman looked back on life, she realized she had always yearned for her mother’s love and never felt her mother believed she was worth loving, which made her question her own value.

Other people may have committed some stupid act in their youth which haunts them long into adulthood. In clowning around, they accidentally caused a life-changing disability; or in momentary anger they blurted out a hateful criticism which can never be unsaid. Such actions can affect one’s future outlook, warping one’s self-understanding, emblazing into their soul that the act is unforgiveable, so of course they can never expect anyone to forgive them nor can they forgive themselves. These are the ones who apply for a promotion, not expecting to get it but raging anyway when they don’t. Any argument with their spouse erupts into fury for no apparent reason. Maybe these examples seem a little extreme, but lots of people wake up every day disappointed in life, feeling unlovable with pain and anger just barely under the surface. They do not believe the universe notices them; they can’t believe God loves them, so a resting angry face is natural. A feeling of being disinherited from anything good is just part of their daily existence.

But God promises a divine inheritance. For each of us, the Creator provides a bequest beyond our wildest imagination. We just need to pay attention. The writer of Ephesians spells out God’s intention for our inheritance but does not involve large sums of money. Sorry. Rather the Creator’s plan for creation, before the first human walked upright, even before time began, was to provide abundant blessings for all creation. Notice the passage especially tells God’s plan for making us whole, for providing our lives with meaning. God doesn’t ask humans to respond to an invitation or to clean up their lives. God just grants forgiveness to everyone because doing so pleases God. The theological term is called “prevenient grace,” meaning forgiveness which comes before or precedes any behavior. In other words, before we sin, we are forgiven. And why would God do that? Because we are God’s chosen family. The writer uses the language of adoption. This is a parent who loves us beyond our imagining. By grace we become God’s children, divinely chosen, which makes us heirs together of God’s goodness. The plan has always been to bless humanity with a life of joy, with the ability to enjoy ideas, art, and building things, to treasure friendships, and to sense divine acceptance. In our lives now, we inherit these blessings. And in our lives to come, God’s plan is to sweep every one of us up into the presence of the divine through the love of Christ, together forever. To receive us holy and blameless before the throne of grace, no matter what we’ve done. We are members of God’s family, through Jesus Christ.

Another word for such inclusion is “salvation.” But saved from what? We are being saved, or rescued, from our hopelessness and self-centered isolation. We are drawn into the loving presence of God in Jesus Christ. The grace of God is lavished upon us because God wants us to know how much we are treasured by the Creative love of the universe and to help us sense divine glory around us. We are not lost; not worthless. The truth is, the most powerful and glorious presence in the universe is aware of each of us. We are loved by Jesus Christ, who takes us right into the presence of the Almighty because we are part of God’s divine family plan. God chooses us, to the praise of God’s glory. We are promised a divine inheritance.

So we need to ask, what does living with our inheritance look like? Our inheritance is to be shared. Of course, we are supposed to pass the inheritance around. The picture sketched in Ephesians is of God’s plan for the unity of all creation, drawn into life in God through Jesus Christ, “to the praise of God’s glory.” So we rightly need to share the inheritance with anyone who hasn’t heard of God’s loving acceptance. Our responsibility starts with a willingness to announce: “No one is outside the love of God; each life is divinely valuable.” One of our important jobs is to spread the vision of God’s unconditional grace and to let folks know they are already adopted into the most desirable family ever – the family of God in Christ. We need to practice saying, “You are loved by God.”  Together, believers need to say that so broadly that no one is missed. Every person shares the legacy. Each of us can know God, and the God revealed in Christ claims each of us as God’s very own. For many people, being told of God’s love for them may be life-savin g. At the very least, the news brings a sense of joy to their life and acceptance of themselves. Even if they are rotten stinkers, God chose them before they were born.

But of course there is more to living out our inheritance. We are not called by Christ to a life of privilege, but to a life of loving service. One of the most powerful ways we share the love of God through Jesus Christ is through the organized church, which we love. And because we are talking about inheritance, I want to say a word about our offerings to God through the church from our estates. But don’t get uncomfortable. Certainly, most of us hope to leave money in our estates to family members and friends; but we appropriately also leave something to the church. There are congregations where the complaint is often raised that the church is only interested in our money. I hope you know that isn’t the case at St. Andrew. But it is appropriate to talk about our money at times other than stewardship season, like on a week the lectionary scripture talks about our inheritance. St. Andrew has named funds which people, in years before us, have left to make sure the legacy of Jesus Christ continues in this place. We have been richly blessed by our inheritance from God and from our St. Andrew saints who have left funds to care for our building and ministry. So it is appropriate for us to pass on the blessing in life and death. God expects us to share all the ways we have been blessed. We live out of our divine inheritance.

Some preachers get very uncomfortable talking about money. I am not one of them. We all need to think and talk about money. Remember the story of the church member who asked the pastor if he would go to heaven if he gave the church $50,000? No surprise, the pastor said, “Yes, you certainly will go to heaven if you donate $50,000. But,” the preacher added, “you’ll also go to heaven if you give nothing at all.” That was the pastor’s brief sermon on prevenient grace and the first chapter of Ephesians. Mine includes the reminder that no one buys their way into God’s eternal presence. We can’t because our divine inheritance is already assured.