Gospel

WE are for the praise of His glory.

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God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him. Ephesians 1:12-14 NLT

 

God so delights to be in relationship with you! In fact God says this relationship brings Him glory and praise. Its an honour to be in relationship with you. How can this be? God, the great, the glorious, the holy, the magnificent, the holy, the perfect — receives praise and glory from us? And it matters to Him?

He is the Creator and we are the created. Now through Jesus Christ His Son, the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a “deposit” guaranteeing God’s full redemption of us as His own. The people who were “lost” to Him through the ravages of sin are now His again through the rescue of Jesus Christ. It is His action towards us that causes us to be for the glory of His praise. Now you are daily empowered through the Spirit to enter into this graceful relationship and actively choose to praise and glorify God.

We were also chosen.

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11Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.  Ephesians 1:11

God has included you in His plans. That’s incredible isn’t it? One of the words used here is “predestined.” It means that God has been been working something out that He had in mind a long time ago. God has been working out how to include you in the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He has been working out how to include you in the knowledge of His grace, truth, and love. Now that you have received Jesus, you are not just coasting along in life according to fate. Nor are you simply the master of your own destiny. Now in Christ you are free to live with the incredible knowledge of your worth to Him. You are His! So go ahead, make a decision, risk to reach out, risk to let the reality of Jesus in your life be known to others!

God chose you in advance… of anything you have done, said, dreamt, thought, or wished for. God chose you in advance… of anything that has happened to you to that challenges the truth in this world. God chose you in advance to be with Him through the work of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord!

We have every spiritual blessing.

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2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.  Ephesians 1:3-6 NLT

 

The description of what God has done for us because we are united with Jesus Christ encourages me. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He has loved us. He has chosen us. He has adopted us. He has poured out His grace on us.

Wow! Definitely this knowledge generates worship. Paul says, “So we praise God!”

Tapping into the spiritual blessings we have in Christ begins with knowing they are there. We are not just drilling down to find water without knowing what is below the surface. We know that in the depths of getting to know Jesus there is grace and peace. When my heart is so uneasy within me, its time to drill down into Jesus by considering again, “Who is Jesus? and “Who I am in Him?”

We have the forgiveness of sin.

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7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1:7-10

The large problem standing in between our union with God is sin. Its the problem Jesus came to deal with as He came from the communion of God, took on flesh, was born of Mary, crucified on the cross, buried in the tomb and raised from the dead. The word for sin here indicates a “trespass” against God. Trespassing occurs when we cross a boundary and enter space that is not ours. Its not that we have entered God’s space, but that we actually left the bounds of His character, will, and word. In leaving that boundary we have been taken captive. Now Jesus came to pay the price.

Jesus paid our redemption price so we can be united with Him again and become participants in the full union work He is planning: the union of things in heaven and things on earth. Jesus’ redemption price – the giving of his blood – is constantly available to you for the forgiveness of sin. When it seems like we are being taken captive by sin again, its time to enter into God’s glorious purpose for you: Jesus shed his blood for the forgiveness of your sin that you might be with Him!

We have every spiritual blessing.

/ Craig / Leave a comment

2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. Ephesians 1:3-6 NLT

The description of what God has done for us because we are united with Jesu Christ encourages me. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He has loved us. He has chosen us. He has adopted us. He has poured out His grace on us.

Wow! Definitely this knowledge generates worship. Paul says, “So we praise God!”

Taping into the spiritual blessings we have in Christ begins with knowing they are there. We are not just drilling down to find water without knowing what is below the surface. We know that in the depths of getting to know Jesus there is grace and peace. When my heart is so uneasy within me, its time to drill down into Jesus by considering again, “Who is Jesus? and “Who I am in Him?”