3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Eph 1:3-14 (ESV)
How easy it is as Christians to be familiar with the Law and a foreigner to the Gospel of Christ. Just as with the church of the Galatians, so often we can respond in faith to the mercy of the Gospel as our only hope of salvation from our sins, and yet turn again to complete the work of God through attempted adherence to the Law. Must we be so quick to forget that we are no longer under the Law but under Grace, if we are led by the Spirit of God? [Gal 5:18]
Do not think I am suggesting to have no care for morals and integrity, or to strongly desire to be made holy. But understand that although the path of sanctification is life long and through many tribulations and sufferings, the hope we are given in Christ depends not on us, but on that which Christ has already accomplished as our Lord and Saviour, and is imparted to us instantly and eternally; guaranteed with the seal of His Holy Spirit.
The church has been given the commission by Jesus Himself to preach the Gospel to every creature [Mark 16:15], but what creature needs to hear the Gospel more frequently than those who already believe? Those who daily do battle with their own flesh by the power of the Spirit of God within, who know the deepest darkest secrets of sinful desires, and know too that each personal failure fixes their only Saviour to the Cross. They need to feast on the Gospel, knowing steadfastly they have been chosen before the foundation of the world, by the One who is able to work all things according to the counsel of His will.
We are not chosen because of anything in us at all, for we are all sinners, and all have rebelled against God. We are chosen “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” [Eph 2:7-9]
By the shedding of His own blood, we are no longer considered His enemies, but His Beloved. By His grace and mercy, and by His own will and purpose, we have been brought into the Israel of God, to share in the covenants of promise we were previously alienated from [Eph 2:12]. So that now ” through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” Eph 2:18-21 (ESV)
How crucial it is to know that we Christians truly have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Let us preach the Gospel to every creature, but let us never forget to preach it to one another all the more so! We are sojourners in a foreign land, where all we have to cling to is the promise of that which is to come. But how great is that hope, and how sure is that promise! For we who believe have been 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” [Eph 1:14]
Amen!
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