having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, 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, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 1:18-20 ESV)
It is Paul's prayer that we may know what awaits us in Christ, and the last point stuck out to me the most where he talks about the "immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe." Talk about an incredible reassurance that all things are possible for those who believe in his true power. It's also quite convicting that we should never be fearful or consider ourselves too insignificant to do his work with his immeasurable power with us.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
ReplyDelete(Ephesians 1:4 ESV)
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
(Ephesians 1:11 ESV)
I find it amazing that before God created the world, he had predestined us to inherit his righteousness! How deep is his love for us? God planned for our salvation before we ever fell.
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
(Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV)
I also think it amazing that not only does God plan for us to inherit his righteousness, but that he has given us a piece of himself as a guarantee until that day comes. We are not righteous now, but God has guaranteed that we will be in the future. This means that we will mess up in this life, but God has secured our salvation and righteousness for us. In him we have redemption and forgiveness.Therefore don't let your sin get you down and take hold of you. God has lavishly poured his grace out on you. No matter what we do, this will not change. God loves us.
"In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." - Ephesians ch. 1 v. 5-6
ReplyDeleteWe were given more than just remission of sins when Jesus died to our account. God intended us to be his sons and daughters, much like Jesus was God's son. When you think of the a true and good relationship between father and son, there are a few key elements.
Good fathers love their children. They think of good gifts to give them; they rebuke them and train them in righteousness; they work every day for their children when they are young, so that they don't have to work for themselves, and they train their sons in hard work and discipline as they get older so that they can work for themselves. A good father doesn't just want his son to be happy. He wants him to be a good man. God desires to shape us and change us, and protect us, just like any good father.
Fathers leave an inheritance for their children. That which the father owns is passed down to his children. What does the God own? Well, everything. Just as their is richness in God's ownership. So their will be richness in our inheritance. 1 Peter says that this inheritance is one that will never perish spoil or fade and is kept for us in heaven.
All of this to say that God wants more than just our happiness. He wants to grow us and shape us and give us great things. And in all of this, we should give thanks to him and spread the news of his grace and love.
"as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him." Ephesians 1:4
ReplyDeleteThis verse in particular really made it clear to me that God accepts nothing but perfection into Heaven. This gives me great hope. We all seek to better ourselves and to allow Christ to chip away at our faults so that we can be fully his, but here, he assures us that what we seek will in fact happen. We will come before God perfect in him.
"Far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come" Ephesians 1:19-20
While I am aware that Jesus Christ is a personal God and that he came to save each of us individually, it is always important that he is God. These verses make it clear that he is grandiose and powerful and far beyond anything imaginable. I am so thankful for this because it reminds me that he is in charge and that I should be giving every aspect of my life over to him.
"I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God." Ephesians 1:16-17
ReplyDeleteNow this is a nice sentiment. While he is talking to the Ephesians here, and while I may have missed that the first time I went over it, I remember thinking to myself, "Huh... thanks!". Looking back over it, I see that Paul could be talking about any one of us, and in fact he is. We need this wisdom to understand the word of God. One of the hardest things for me when I read the bible is actually to get anything out of it. I can read a passage and understand the text (Yes, God loves me, etc...) and I've heard that many times, and thats what people tell me this passage should mean. But that hardly does anything for me. I always wonder when people talk about a passage or scripture or something they heard in a sermon, if that's actually what they think, or is it what they know they're supposed to say. The importance of a passage is what it means to me, not what Im supposed to see in there- guidance is always nice, but you can never make it your own if people tell you what you should think. This has been a good exercise in that.
Hey y'all, so I'm currently following my own reading plan on YouVersion today my verse comes from Luke 21: 1-5 (ESV)
ReplyDelete[1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”]
This passage represents a perfect example in the exercise of giving. Jesus points that it is easy to give when we have a lot, but the true test is giving when we have almost nothing. This is when it really matters because our own well-being can hang in the balance. In giving when we have nothing we are showing that we love someone else more than we do ourselves. It demonstrates a self-sacrifice that we see in Jesus' death on the cross, an act where Jesus really did give ALL that he had for the salvation of everyone of us. I think if we give the way that the widow gave, we will come to a better realization of God's love for us and better lives for those less fortunate than us.
Anyone interested in the practice of Christian giving should pick up the "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. In it he talks about how to give and why we give. It's really changed my view of the practice so I recommend it to anyone who has struggled with giving or who is just interested in scripture related to giving.
The grace and peace of God, be with all.