Ephesians1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Happy and blessed is the best we can be.
The question is: What do you consider a blessing – and what does it take to make you happy?
Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians, (which is believed to be a circular letter, rather than a letter to a specific church,) with an encouragement which is unmatched in the New Testament. For this reason, these opening chapters of the book are known of as the “Alps of the New Testament.”
Why? Because here we rise to the heights of heaven to consider our fate. There will be specific instruction on conduct and good Christian living to follow, but first we soar to the highest of heights, to the very throne of God and Christ, to consider Who it is Who loves us so, and Who it is Who has made all these arrangements to bring us up along this High way.
It is wonderful to consider what it means for God to have chosen me. What a blessing! And, according to Paul’s words, it is a “spiritual blessing.” It is one thing to be blessed in material ways, but here Paul reveals the greater glory of our Spiritual blessings in Christ.
There is no way anything we may receive in this life can compare with God’s election, and God’s pre-destination, and God’s redemption, and God’s dispensation, and God’s inheritance…and it is only made better by the knowledge that it is God’s pleasure to do so.
- Pastor Bill
No comments:
Post a Comment