Ephesians 1: You Are Rich, Stop Living Like a Beggar

Introduction

A man lived for decades as a beggar. He wore rags, ate what people gave him out of charity, and slept in a run-down house. When he died, a well-hidden box was found beside his bed, containing more than 500,000 euros. He was rich, but he lived like a poor man.

It is with this story, which had made quite a stir, that Angelo Gargano opens his message at the Evangelical Church of the Assemblies of God in Turin, Via Spalato. From it he draws an observation: "Spiritually speaking, many Christians live the same way. They are rich and they live as beggars."

The text is Ephesians 1:7-12. For the preacher, God's people are a rich people, because "Yahweh's blessing brings wealth" (Proverbs 10:22). He calls these riches "our invisible treasures": the physical eye cannot see them, but you can enjoy them every day.

Outline of the Message

1. Rich, but Living Like a Beggar

Peter writes that God's divine power "has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). Angelo Gargano underlines the tense of the verb: not "will grant," but "has granted."
Yet many live defeated and fearful, "as if they were spiritual orphans, without a single cent of grace at their disposal." Some are always downcast, always oppressed.
Paul writes to the Ephesians to prevent this paradox. The Spirit wants you to stop staring at your empty pockets and look to "God's bank," to the blessings he has deposited for each person.
This treasure never runs out, even if you spent it all in one day, because the Lord's mercies "are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). "In Christ, we are spiritual millionaires."
Even before the verses that were read, Paul reminds us that we were chosen before the foundation of the world, predestined to be adopted as God's children and made acceptable in the eyes of the Father in Christ (Ephesians 1:4-6).
"Today we want to stop begging the world for crumbs," thinking that it can meet our needs, and ask the Lord to open our spiritual eyes. The preacher recalls a hymn: "I am not rich, but I possess everything, because I have the Lord."

2. First Treasure: Redemption

In the ancient world, redemption was the technical term for buying a slave's freedom. Imagine a man in chains, sold at the market, without hope: he could be freed only if someone paid the price of his ransom down to the last cent.
We were slaves, bound by the chains of sin and vice, prisoners of Satan. Paul is speaking of neither a religion nor a philosophy: "In him we have our redemption." Outside of Christ, you are still in chains; in him, your debt is paid.
The verb is in the present: "we have," not "we may have if we are wise." If you have received Jesus, the chains are broken and the prison door is open. What remains is not to let yourself be chained again.
The text also states the price: "through his blood." This is not a symbolic sacrifice. Peter will say it: you were redeemed "not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, … but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, even the blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19).
We sometimes take this treasure for granted, as if we had earned it. Everything comes from his infinite grace. "What won us over was not fear," but his love, shown every day.

3. Second Treasure: Forgiveness of Sins

The word is often used as a synonym for pardon, but its meaning goes deeper: to forgive sins is to remove, to separate, to take away completely.
"Forgiving does not mean that God pretends not to see." God takes the file of your sins and throws it away, burns it, erases it. He erases your shame and your mistakes, casts them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19), and from then on treats you as if you had never sinned.
That is why Paul writes: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your past is no longer counted before the Lord.
There is no forgiveness without redemption. Jesus said so: "For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

4. According to the Riches of His Grace

Paul writes that this forgiveness is given to us "according to the riches of his grace." The preacher stresses the nuance: there is an enormous difference between giving out of your riches and giving according to your riches.
A millionaire who gives ten euros to a poor man gives a crumb of his riches. If he buys him a house and pays him a lifelong income, he gives according to his riches.
"The Lord did not give us leftovers. He did not forgive us on the cheap, with a discount. When he forgives, he forgives completely." He does not give a quick wipe of the sponge: he clothes you in glory.
Think of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32): the father did not merely allow him to come home, he killed the fattened calf to welcome him. This welcome shows the heart of our heavenly Father.
If someone is not yet in Christ, that person is poor. But they can change their position today by making Jesus their personal Savior.

5. Third Treasure: The Revelation of His Plan and the Inheritance

God did not only save and forgive us: he has involved us in his eternal plan. He has made known to us "the mystery of his will" (verse 9).
This means he does not treat us as mere servants who only have to obey, but as friends to whom he entrusts his plans, as Jesus said (John 15:15).
His purpose is "to sum up all things in Christ" (verse 10). "In this plan, you are included too. You are not a number in a register, you are part of God's eternal project."
"In him we also were assigned an inheritance" (verse 11). Many hope for an inheritance from a rich "uncle in America"; here, it is a far better inheritance. The world may ignore you, your relatives may push you aside, but in the kingdom of God you have an inheritance with your name on it. You are even a joint heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).
It is an invisible estate that no economic crisis and no war can devalue, and that no thief will ever be able to steal.

6. Do Not Go Back to Living Poor

The greatest danger, Angelo Gargano warns, is to walk out of church and start behaving again "like the spiritually poor." It is not enough to receive this information: you have to make it your own.
The enemy will come and tell you: "You are a failure, you are worthless, you have no resources," or: "God has forgotten you, otherwise you would not be in this situation." The preacher answers: "The enemy is always wrong, our God is always right."
You are neither a beggar nor a stranger searching for crumbs under the table: you are a child of the King of kings, and you can sit at the table with your God. Paul put it this way: "as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things" (2 Corinthians 6:10).
If you feel like a slave, claim your redemption. If guilt is crushing you, claim the forgiveness of sins, because "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). If you feel like a nobody, remember that you have an inheritance.
"Do not starve spiritually when you hold the key to heaven's bank." Jesus said: "I am the door" (John 10:9). Isaiah extends the same invitation: "Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! … buy … without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). For the preacher, the price has already been paid by the blood of the Lamb.
Instead of repeating "I can't take any more, I will never get through this," you can say with Paul: "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). The one who strengthens you is the one who has placed the treasures of his grace in your heart.
Many boast about their genealogy. Paul, for his part, boasted only in the cross of Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14), and it is through that cross that we are made rich in him.

Key Takeaways

God "has granted" us all things that pertain to life and godliness: in Christ, you are rich, even if your spiritual pockets seem empty.
Redemption is in the present: the price has been paid by the blood of Christ, the chains are broken. What remains is not to let yourself be chained again.
God's forgiveness is not a quick wipe of the sponge: it erases your sins, removes them, and casts them into the depths of the sea, according to the riches of his grace.
God involves you in his eternal plan and makes you his heir, a joint heir with Christ, with an estate that nothing can devalue.
The danger is to walk out of church and return to the life of a spiritual beggar. Facing the enemy's lies, remember who you are in Christ.

Personal Application

In which area of your life are you living like a spiritual beggar, when God has already given you everything in Christ?
What "crumbs" are you still seeking from the world to meet your needs?
Is there an old chain trying to close around you again? What does "remaining in him" mean for you this week, so that you stay free?
Are you still carrying the guilt of a sin that God has already cast into the depths of the sea?
What sentence from the enemy do you hear most often ("you are worthless," "God has forgotten you"), and what truth from Ephesians 1 can you set against it?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the "invisible treasures" mentioned in Ephesians 1?

They are the riches that the physical eye cannot see but that believers can enjoy every day. In Ephesians 1:7-12, Angelo Gargano points out three: redemption through the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the revelation of the mystery of God's will, which makes us his heirs.

What is the difference between giving "out of" your riches and giving "according to" your riches?

A millionaire who gives ten euros to a poor man gives out of his riches. If he buys him a house and pays him a lifelong income, he gives according to his riches. Paul writes that forgiveness is granted to us according to the riches of God's grace: God does not forgive on the cheap, he forgives completely.

How can you stop living like a spiritual beggar?

By ceasing to look only at your own possibilities and looking instead to the riches of God's glory. If you feel like a slave, claim your redemption. If guilt is crushing you, the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin. If you feel like a nobody, remember that you are a joint heir with Christ.