Ephesians 1:3-23. 3 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… 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers… that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
In Ephesians 1, first Paul lists our spiritual blessings in Christ (1:3-14). Then he prays that we will truly know and experience our blessings in Christ (1:15-19). And then, as if he just can’t help himself, in the middle of praying for us to know God through these spiritual blessings he bursts into one of scriptures’ most majestic descriptions of Christ. This is what we read in 1:20-23. Jesus the resurrected one. Jesus the glorified one. Jesus the ruler of the universe. Jesus the head of the Church. Jesus the fullness of all things.
Jesus IS our blessing!
Today let’s look at the blessing of Jesus’ resurrection.
The resurrection is our starting point. No resurrection, no hope, no life, no glory, no point.
1 Corinthians 15:19. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
We are alive in Christ because he was raised from the dead. We are blessed in Christ because he was raised from the dead. He is the first fruits. We are the bumper crop.
Before Christ, lots of other people were raised from the dead. So what makes his resurrection so special? Christ was raised in glory. Lazarus died again. The widow’s son died again. Jairus’ daughter died again. Jesus will never die again.
Likewise, you and I will die unto a resurrection whereby we will never die again. And the cool thing is that this resurrection power has already begun to do its work in us. It has quickened our spirits. Currently our bodies are mortal yes, but our spirit is immortal. It will never die. The death of the body will send the spirit to the embrace Jesus. To the arms of the Father. And one day the body will “catch up” so to speak.
The Dark Knight’s resurrection.
This is the blessing of union with the resurrected Jesus:
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that God is committed to our full reconciliation – body and spirit.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that evil will not have the final say.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that everything wrong will eventually be made right.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that living a life of sacrificial love is not a waste of time, in fact it is the only way to find real life.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that pure goodness and beauty are alive in this world and made available to us in Christ’s life.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that God wins! All of his promises will be kept, all of his plans will come to completion.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that all the shame of our nakedness will be exchanged for the glorious robes of his honor.
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can know that nothing is meaningless. All that is evil can be turned into glory, and all that is good will never end.
“To live is Christ” joins us to every blessing of Christ’s resurrection. Not just some day. The impact of resurrection power is ours today and every day.
Do you believe this?
To Live is Christ 
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