Sermon Manuscript for Sunday Worship, January 4, 2026

Holy Invitation

Ephesians 1:3–14 (New Translation)

At the threshold of time, looking toward eternity

1. Dear saints, the massive door of time called 2026 has opened. We have now left behind the joy of Christmas, and we are standing in front of the first page of the new year, on which nothing has yet been recorded.

2. The word “beginning” gives us excitement, but at the same time it can also give us a vague fear. “What kind of things will happen this year?”, “Will we be able to handle this time well?” Because the uncertainty of not knowing even one inch ahead surrounds us.

3. But who are saints? A saint is not a person who pioneers uncertain time by one’s own ability, but a person who confirms God’s eternal plan that is ahead of time and enters into it.

4. Ephesians chapter 1 that we opened today shows us that “eternal plan” as a blueprint. Paul was confined in the most limited space called prison, but his gaze was looking through time and space toward the eternity before creation and the time of completion that is to come.

5. On the first Sunday of 2026, what we need is precisely this gaze. Something far bigger than my one-year plan, and far older than it—confirming God’s vast plan: I believe that is the purpose of today’s worship.

6. I hope that in 2026, as we are in the time of Yeolin Church’s 40th anniversary, this time will not drive the church community into a time of helplessness and uncertainty, but rather, if we trace the forty years we have lived and are filled with thanksgiving to God, then with expectation for how Yeolin Church will be established this year within God’s vision by which God will newly lead us forward, I earnestly hope that you and I will become those who build the church firmly.

“Let us bless/praise (Eulogētos)” — not as one who asks for blessing, but as one who proclaims blessing

7. In verse 3 of today’s passage, it begins immediately with a massive praise without any greeting or introduction. “Let us bless/praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here, the Greek word translated as “to bless/praise” is “Eulogētos.”

8. From this word came the English “Eulogy (a eulogy/tribute).” This does not simply mean to sing a song, but means “to speak good words,” “to acknowledge and proclaim as is fitting what that being is like.”

9. At the moment Paul remembers God’s plan of salvation, he cannot endure because of that overwhelming grace, and he is bursting out: “God is the One who is worthy to be blessed/praised!”

10. Why is Paul so excited like this? The reason appears in the second half of verse 3. “He has given us every spiritual blessing belonging to heaven.” When the new year comes, many believers greet each other saying, “Receive many blessings,” wishing that they will receive blessings in the future.

11. However, in Paul’s theology, blessing is not a “task to be obtained in the future.” If you look at the Greek tense, it is already in a past perfect/completed form. God has already given us, in Christ, all the blessings of heaven that He can give us.

12. We are not starting 2026 holding an empty can, having received nothing, expecting what He will give. Having already opened the storehouse of heaven and poured out upon us that spiritual blessing, we are starting 2026 as heirs who confirm it and enjoy its abundance.

“He chose (Eklegomai)” — God’s meticulous sovereignty that rejects coincidence

13. Then what is the specific content of that blessing? In verse 4 Paul proclaims a mystery that human reason cannot dare to measure. “God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world…” Here, the word “to choose (Eklegomai)” is a word formed by combining “ek,” meaning “out of,” and “lego,” meaning “to speak, to gather.”

14. It means that out of countless beings, He pointed and called out separately, saying, “You are mine.” But what is even more astonishing is: when was the time of that choice? “Before the creation of the world”…

15. This draws out a theologically very important theme. This word means that our salvation and our life are not based on “my behavior” or “my qualification.” Before we were even born—no, before the universe even came into being—God already knew us and chose us.

16. The theological term for this is “Unconditional Election.” We began the new year of 2026 with ambition. As we live, things may not go as planned, and we may fail.

17. Because of this, we can become discouraged, give up, and waste time unable to escape that self-reproach. Grieving over my lack, we can also blame ourselves with all kinds of regrets we can muster.

18. But in today’s passage, even if I am somewhat lacking, this choosing of God is not canceled. Because I was not chosen because I did well, but because God decided already before the creation of the world to do so.

19. This truth gives tremendous freedom to us who are beginning the new year. It frees us from the anxiety of achievement-oriented thinking: “If I do well, I receive blessing; if I do poorly, I am discarded.”

20. God did not invest in us after seeing our potential; rather, by His sovereign love—that is, because God Himself decided—He chose us.

“Adoption (Huiothesia)” — a complete change of status with legal effect

21. In verse 5 Paul explains the result of this choosing as the relationship called “becoming children.” “He predestined us to become God’s children through Jesus Christ.”

22. Here, the word “to make children” is the Greek “Huiothesia.” This is a legal term meaning “adoption,” used in Roman courts.

23. In first-century Roman society, adoption was an extremely weighty and solemn event. When a father adopted someone as a son, all debts and legal obligations that the adopted person had carried in the previous family were immediately extinguished.

24. And the adopted person inherited the new father’s name, and was legally guaranteed the same inheritance rights as a biological son. The father could never disown this adopted son.

25. In the classic movie Ben-Hur, there is a scene where the main character Judah Ben-Hur is unjustly dragged to a slave ship and rows miserably.

26. He was nothing but a consumable called only by the number “41,” without even a name. Then, during a naval battle, he saves the Roman consul Arius, and Arius adopts Ben-Hur as his legal son.

27. The moment Arius puts the family ring on Ben-Hur’s hand, he was no longer Slave No. 41. He became the rightful heir of the Roman noble house of Arius—“Young Ben-Hur.”

28. Roman law protected him, and all the authority the father had was transferred to him.

29. The reason Paul used this legal term would have been to show that our salvation is that certain.

30. God did not call us simply as “people who go to church.” He made us legal heirs who will inherit all His inheritance—family that no one can cut off.

31. In 2026, you will go through many things. It will not be only good things; there will be sadness too, and you may be hurt by things that are unsatisfying compared to your expectations. Because of the various things you experience, you may feel complicated and frustrated. But there is one fact that never changes. The fact that we are God’s children.

32. We are not orphans, and we have been given the privilege of calling God, the Owner of the universe, “Abba Father.” This unshakable sense of identity will be the strength that sustains us throughout this year.

“To unify (Anakephalaiomai)” — God’s big picture that fits together the fragmented world

33. Now Paul’s gaze expands beyond personal salvation into a cosmic dimension. Verses 9 and 10 speak of God’s “mystery (Mysterion).”

34. “God’s plan is that, when the time is fulfilled, He will unify all things in heaven and on earth in Christ, making Him the head.” Here, “Anakephalaiomai,” translated as “to unify,” originally means “to make head again,” or “to summarize and bind together as one.”

35. When we look at the characteristics of this world we experience, we often experience that all relationships are broken because of sin. The world teaches us to live with oneself at the center, to build and stand out oneself rather than relationships, and for material gain, to never give up self-centered relationship-setting.

36. Because of this, God and humans have been separated, people and people have been divided, and nature and humans are in opposition. Everything has been fragmented, scattered in pieces, having lost its head.

37. But God’s vast vision is to perfectly assemble these broken fragments of the universe again under the headship of Jesus Christ, and bind them into one. This is the “great vision” that God has prepared.

38. God did not send Jesus merely so that I as one person would eat well and live well. He cast you and me, and our church, into this vast drama of re-creation that restores the whole universe.

39. In 2026, the vision we must dream is precisely this. Beyond my success: to make broken families one in Christ, to reconcile divided neighbors, and to have God’s reign come upon the place of my life. This is the life of a saint who participates in the ministry of “Anakephalaiomai.”

“Guarantee (Arrhabōn)” — the Holy Spirit is our down payment

40. After hearing this great plan, we hesitate. “Can someone like me dare to participate in that work?”, “My faith is so weak—won’t I be disqualified in the middle?” So Paul introduces the Holy Spirit in verses 13 and 14. “You received the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.

41. This Holy Spirit is… the guarantee of our inheritance…” Here, two important commercial terms appear. One is “sealed,” that is, a stamp was applied to mark ownership, and the more important word is “Arrhabōn,” translated as “guarantee.”

42. “Arrhabōn” means “deposit” or “down payment,” used in commerce at the time. When you put down a deposit to buy land, it creates legal binding force that you will definitely pay the remaining balance as well.

43. That God sent the Holy Spirit into us means that He placed a sure down payment that He will give us the completed inheritance called heaven. God does not break the contract.

44. The Holy Spirit within us is not Someone who is with us only when we feel good and leaves when we feel bad. He has come as a “living certificate of guarantee” that God will take responsibility for us to the end. As you begin 2026, do not be anxious. The “Arrhabōn” of God, stronger than my will, is within us.

The holy invitation we must not avoid — as a life that becomes praise

45. Dear saints, I will summarize the Word. Today’s passage begins with “Blessed be” in verse 3 and concludes with the repeated statement “to the praise of His glory” three times—in verses 6, 12, and 14.

46. The choosing of God the Father, the redemption of God the Son Jesus, and the sealing of God the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this perfect cooperative operation of the Triune God is one: that you and I become praise itself that reveals God’s glory.

47. In the new year of 2026, God has shown us a great vision. The choosing that began before creation, the love that even gave the Son, the vision to unify the universe, and the sure promise guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. All of this is toward us.

48. Therefore, what we must decide today is this: “If we are believers who believe in Jesus, we must not avoid this holy and overwhelming invitation of God.” Do not step back because God’s plan is too big. Do not hide because my ability is lacking.

49. God has prepared everything, and God will accomplish it. We only need to respond “Amen” before that great plan and entrust ourselves to that flow.

The Hound of Heaven

50. There is a poem titled “The Hound of Heaven,” among the poems written by a man named Francis Thompson. Originally he vowed to become a priest, but because he was too introverted and had a strong dreamy temperament, he ended up being expelled from seminary. He also tried to become a doctor, but even that failed.

51. Eventually, living only clutching failure, later he wandered as a homeless man in the back alleys of London, living miserably as an alcoholic and drug addict.

52. The one who saved the dying Thompson was a magazine editor named Wilfrid Meynell. Thompson sent a few poems written on crumpled paper to the magazine company, and Meynell, seeing the manuscript, recognized his genius and searched the slums of London to find him.

53. The Meynell couple admitted the dirty and sick Thompson to the hospital, brought him to their home, cared for him, and helped him to be able to write again. In this process, Thompson painfully realized the fact that even when I was thrown into the sewer, God had not given up on me and was pursuing me, and the poem he confessed from this realization is “The Hound of Heaven.”

54. “I fled Him, down the nights and down the days. I fled Him, down the arches (arch) of the years. I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind… I even leaped into laughter to hide from Him, and I slipped into the valley of enormous sorrow.”

55. “But with unhurrying chase, with unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, majestic instancy, the sound of His pursuing footsteps is heard.”

56. “And a voice louder than the footsteps is heard. ‘Because you betrayed Me, all things betray you.’ ‘Having left Me, where will you find a place to rest?’” “The pillars of life have broken down, and the flower of my youth has withered… Whose is that dark shadow standing beside me?”

57. “That dark shadow is the shadow cast by my own hand. Because I love you, I blocked you so that you would not gain satisfaction from other things. Rise, take My hand, and let us go!”

58. Borrowing the mouth of a man named Thompson, He speaks similar words to us who are beginning 2026 today. We have already been saved. The things we do together in the church are sometimes difficult and burdensome, and then our zeal can also decrease, and being zealous can feel awkward. But God is still beside us, and having adopted us as His children, He is declaring that He will firmly establish us clearly as God’s people.

59. We are looking forward to 2026. There will be this and that kind of things, but holding on to the grace of God that never changes, I hope that you and I will become those who together confess the great love and grace of the Lord.