Wednesday, September
12, 2012, 8:00 a.m. – the Lord put the song “Blessed are You” in my mind when I sat down on the sofa to have my
quiet time with him this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I
read Ephesians 1 over the last two days, and felt led of the Lord to revisit it
this morning. Ephesians 1:1-14 (NIV
1984):
Paul, an apostle of
Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in
Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he
predestined us to be adopted as his sons 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. In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to
us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in
Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their
fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head,
even Christ.
In him we were also
chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out
everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who
were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you
also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Freedom
On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln put into effect an
executive order proclaiming freedom of slaves who were owned by those rebelling
against the U.S. government. The executive order was called “The Emancipation
Proclamation.” The “executive” who issued the order purportedly was the
president of the U.S.A., Abraham Lincoln. The order freed the slaves from
slavery but did not make the ex-slaves citizens of the U.S. The order was of
human origin and was not without fault or without political agenda. It appears Lincoln
used the proclamation as a bargaining tool or as a threat to the Confederate
States if they did not return to Union control, which they did not, and so the
proclamation went into effect. [Source: Wikipedia]
Before the creation of the world, a different kind of
executive order was issued, i.e. the believer’s “Emancipation Proclamation.” The
executive who issued this order is God the Father, and the one who put it into
effect was/is Jesus Christ, his Son. This order was not of human origin and had
no political agenda attached to it. Its purpose was not to force compliance. Nothing
was required of us prior to the proclamation being put into effect. There was nothing
we could do to ensure it or to prevent it from taking effect. In love God
predestined us (followers of Christ) to be adopted as his children through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with his will, not ours, and for his pleasure and
to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished (piled) on us with all
wisdom and understanding. Wow!
The Agenda
This proclamation had as its agenda to bless us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. Awesome! He has blessed us with his
salvation, his grace, love, kindness, compassion and forgiveness; with freedom
from slavery to sin; with wisdom, knowledge and understanding; with adoption as
his children; with the Holy Spirit; and with eternal life with God, etc. This
proclamation had as its goal not only to free us from slavery to sin, but to
free us of the ultimate punishment of sin (eternal damnation), and to make us
holy and blameless in God’s sight. We did not have to be holy prior to this
proclamation going into effect, for while we were yet sinners Christ died for
us. Yet he chose us before the creation of the world to be holy (set apart for
God; pure) and blameless (free from sin), not just positionally through our
faith in Christ, but progressively through the working of the Holy Spirit daily
in our hearts and lives in conforming us to the image of Christ.
The full effect of this proclamation, though, will not be
realized until Jesus Christ returns to judge and to take his saints to be with
him for eternity. Then our salvation will be complete. In the meanwhile we are
in a process of salvation (or sanctification), i.e. of being made holy and set
apart for God and for his service.
The Spirit’s Work
When we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our
lives he fills us with his Holy Spirit. We are baptized (spiritually) into
death with Christ to our old lives of sin and we are resurrected with Christ to
walk in newness of life in the power and working of the Holy Spirit in transforming
us in heart and mind to be true followers of Jesus Christ.
It is the Holy Spirit’s work in regenerating us, in making
us holy and blameless in God’s sight, and in counseling, helping, leading,
guiding, convicting, encouraging and empowering us to live holy lives. We do
nothing to earn our salvation or to deserve it. It is given to us as a free
gift of God’s grace. Yet, it must be appropriated to our lives. In other words,
God will not force his will upon us. We have to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s
work in our lives through surrender and submission to God’s will and purpose
for us. Salvation is not a one-time event that takes place in our lives, then
we live our lives on the earth, and one day we go to heaven. We are saved to be
holy and blameless in God’s sight now, while we are still here, and it is a
process. The Bible says we are saved, we are being saved (made holy;
sanctified) and we will be saved when Christ returns and our salvation is
complete.
We were included in Christ when we heard and believed the
word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. When we believe in Jesus we are
marked in Christ with a seal – the Holy Spirit – guaranteeing that our
salvation is genuine, indicating God/Jesus is now our owner (Lord), and ensuring
that we are favored in God’s sight; cared for; provided for; and protected, as
well as guaranteeing our eternal life with God beginning at the moment we
believe. These are wonderful and awesome promises of God, yet must not be taken
lightly or assured unregenerately, i.e. without true faith in the true gospel. So,
we must make certain that the “word of truth” we are hearing and believing is truly
the “gospel of our salvation.” The truth of the gospel is summed up for us well
in these verses in Ephesians 4: 17-24 (NIV ’84):
So I tell you this,
and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and
separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to
the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given
themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with
a continual lust for more.
You, however, did not
come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in
accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by
its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put
on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
The Crux
This, i.e. Ephesians 4:17-24, is the crux of the gospel.
Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself, take up
his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. He said that if we
want to hold on to our old lives of sin we will lose them for eternity, but if
we willingly die with Christ to our old lives of sin, we will save our lives
for eternity. Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of
the entire world, not just so we could go to heaven one day. He died to free us
from slavery to sin right now.
So, if you have not given your heart to the Lord Jesus
Christ, inviting him into your life to be your Lord and Savior, or if you have
been trusting in a false gospel that does not teach freedom from slavery to
sin, then please today hear the truth of the gospel, and choose to walk in genuine
faith with Jesus Christ as your Lord (master), and become his slave of
righteousness. Then, you will know and can be assured of his blessings!
Blessed Are You /
An Original Work / August 29, 2012
Based off Luke 6:20-49 NIV 1984
“Blessed are you;
Blessed are you who
are poor
For God’s kingdom is
yours.
(Kingdom is yours)
Blessed are you;
Blessed are you who
are hungry,
You’ll be satisfied.
(Be satisfied)
Blessed are you;
Blessed are you who
weep now,
For you will laugh
with joy.
(Will laugh with joy)
Blessed are you;
Blessed are you when
men hate
And reject you because
of Christ.”
(Because of Christ)
“Rejoice in that;
Rejoice in that day
and
Leap for joy; great
your reward.
(Great your reward)
But I tell you;
But I tell you to love
those
Who hate you; do them
good.
(Do good to them)
Pray for those who;
Pray for those who
treat you wrong
And say kind things of
them.
(Kind things of them)
Do to others;
Do to others as you would
have
Them do; have them do
to you.”
(Them do to you)
“If you love those;
If you love those who
love you,
What praise is there
for you?
(What praise for you?)
Because Christ is;
Because Christ is
kind,
Be merciful, just like
He is.
(Just like He is)
Forgive others;
Forgive others their
offense
Against you; be ye
kind.
(Be kind to them)
Hear My words and;
Hear My words and put
them
Into practice, then
you’ll be fulfilled.”
(You’ll be fulfilled)
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