The epistle to the Ephesians is addressed to Christians who "are in danger of suffering from spiritual malnutrition,

because they are not taking advantage of the enormous store of food and spiritual goods they have at their disposal.

The epistle to the Ephesians has been called the believer's bank,

the checkbook,

the Bible's treasure room.

This wonderful letter tells Christians about the great riches,

the inheritance,

and the fullness they possess in Jesus Christ and his church.

It tells them what they possess and what they must do to appropriate it."

(John MACARTHUR).

This is not material wealth,

but spiritual wealth.

Ephesus was a very important city,

one of the 5 key cities of the Roman Empire.

It was definitely the largest city (apart from Rome) that Paul visited.

It was so rich that it was called the "Bank of Asia".

Traders came from all over to buy and sell their wares.

And tourists visited to admire a temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis,

one of the 7 wonders of the world at the time.

With his letter,

the apostle Paul certainly wanted to show the members of the church in Ephesus,

surrounded by great material wealth,

that the joy and contentment of a Christian is not based on the material.

He wanted to remind them of the true riches we have in Christ,

riches that don't spoil and that no one can steal!

This theme is still relevant today.

Today's world would have us believe that money brings happiness!

But God's Word tells us that this is a lie.

True,

money can buy us things that make our daily lives easier,

but money is powerless against the difficulties,

suffering and great challenges of our life on earth.

The key verse in Ephesians is right at the beginning:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.

Ephesians 1, 3

In Jesus we have ALL spiritual blessing!

And in the verses that follow,

Paul gives us more details about these blessings.

In the original Greek version of the Bible,

verses 3 to 14 of the first chapter of Ephesians are a single sentence!

According to Paul,

the list of spiritual riches for those "in Christ" is long:

election and predestination;

adoption;

love;

redemption;

forgiveness;

grace;

wisdom and understanding;

inheritance;

the Holy Spirit;

power;

hope and the church.

In the next few pages,

we will study these biblical truths,

but not simply as doctrines or knowledge for our heads.

Instead,

we'll be looking to discover how they can become real riches for our daily lives with everyday actions.