Tag: in Christ
Created! Made alive! Raised up! Seated!
Scripture reading for August 26: Ephesians 2
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved–and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10
Paul continued to encourage the Ephesians with deeper understanding of Christ’s work for them and on their behalf. God’s mercy and great love moved Him to act on behalf of us, who as sinners were under a death sentence. In Christ, we were made alive with Him as He rose from the dead. In Christ, God raised us up with Him and In Christ seated us with Him at His right hand. In Christ Jesus, we were made a new creation and given good works to do that were prepared by God the Father to fulfill His will. We owe it all to Jesus Christ!
Paul goes on to say that we are God’s workmanship. God is a Master Craftsman and produces unique individual ‘masterpieces’ in us who are made in His image. God prepares each person with the giftings and abilities to do a particular assignment while passing through this world. He prepares the good works beforehand and it is our unique glory to search out God’s will and calling in our lives. We yield our lives back to God in repentance and faith and humbly walk with the aid of Christ’s Holy Spirit to fulfill His plans. We who were once dead in our trespasses are now made alive and given purpose and new vision to walk out our new destiny as God’s adopted children!
Have you ever considered yourself as a unique ‘masterpiece’ created by God? Have you taken time to search out God’s purpose and plan for your unique life? How do these revelations of Scripture expand your world view and bring you encouragement?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your amazing ‘workmanship’ in my own life. I marvel that You would shape me with a purpose in Your kingdom. By the Holy Spirit, I seek to daily walk out the good works that You have prepared uniquely for me. Let my life, gifts, and abilities fulfill Your will and purpose. Amen.
Chosen in Him!
Scripture reading for August 25: Ephesians 1
“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, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, . .” Ephesians 1:3-8
According to Paul, those ‘in Christ’ are beyond blessed! God, our Father, chose us before the world was formed to be ‘in Christ’ and as a result to be holy and blameless as Christ is holy and blameless. God our Father has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places! ‘In Christ’ we are adopted as sons and daughters of God in His forever family. He placed us there in His amazing foreknowledge before the earth was formed. His gracious love was given on purpose to us in His Beloved Son through the shedding of His blood on the cross, purchasing our redemption from sin and resulting death. God lavished on us forgiveness of sins and opened our eyes and hearts to His glory and wisdom through the gift of His Holy Spirit.
Our response to God’s amazing love and lavish giving is to worship Him and bless His Name. All we can do is say ‘thank You’ Lord! By faith we say ‘amen’ to each act of grace offered to us ‘in Christ’. We often struggle to understand the amazing love of God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. As we worship and invite God to reveal His plans and purposes to us, He gives us heavenly vision and revelation of who we are and Who Christ is to us and all mankind. These declarations of God’s blessings ‘in Christ’ led Paul to pray for more wisdom and understanding of our inheritance and Christ’s resurrection power. (Ephesians 1:15-20)
As you look at your life, would you say that you are living ‘in Christ Jesus?’ What emotions are present when you think about God our Father choosing us ‘before the foundation of the world?’ How does this passage speak to orphans and those who may be without family and lonely?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the many saints that You lavish Your love upon. Thank You for choosing us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in Christ Jesus. Thank You for adopting us into Your forever family! Give us vision and renewed understanding of the mystery of Your will in Christ for us. Amen.
Sin through Adam, Righteousness through Christ!
Scripture reading for June 20th: Romans 5
Key Scriptures for over-comers: Romans 5:12,18-19 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—. . .” “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
Paul carefully explained how universal sin was because of Adam’s original sin. Adam’s one act of sin resulted in death to all mankind. This death was eventually physical death but ultimately spiritual death or the second death of complete separation from God in the Lake of Fire. But God, in His love and mercy, provided a way of escape from death by sending His Only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was perfectly obedient to His Father and fulfilled the Law completely, becoming the perfect substitute to pay the penalty for sinful man. Jesus obeyed His Father, even to dying for our sins on the cross in order that all who believed would be made righteous!
Observations for over-comers: Over-comers must hold fast to these basic truths of the Gospel message and true doctrine. These simple truths bring true salvation to both Jew and Gentile! “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones.” (Proverbs 2:6-8)
New creation realities!
Scripture reading for November 27th: 2nd Corinthians 1-5
Many Christians don’t realize who they really are in Christ. They struggle with low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority. They try to be different and keep the rules or commandments but always fail or fall short. “Try harder!”, some well-meaning saints encourage! But the harder they try, the more frustrated they become. The secret is in knowing who we are in Christ.
When we are truly ‘born again’, we are transformed inside by the Holy Spirit into new creations. (John 3:3-8) (2nd Corinthians 5:17) As God blew breath into Adam and he became a living being, so the breath of God comes into us by the Holy Spirit and we become alive to God! Our life is brand new at it’s core, in our heart and spirit! We now have an eternal relationship with Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21
The new creation that is formed in us by the Holy Spirit is reconciled to God. God did this work of reconciliation at the cross when He put our sins on His Son . We are adopted into God’s family and given the task of appealing to others on Christ’s behalf. Our new position is “ambassador” of Christ, imploring men to be reconciled to God. We have a divine purpose and our identity is with Christ.
What a blessing to be forgiven! What freedom to know eternal life and a relationship with our heavenly Father! These new creation realities are appropriated by faith and lived out daily. Our God is for us and we are for Him! Appropriate your “ambassador” status today and invite someone you know to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ!