Thursday, May 01, 2014, 3:33 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “My Heart’s Desire.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read Ephesians
1:1-14 (NIV).
Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To
God’s holy people 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 for adoption to
sonship 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, 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 reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on
earth under 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 put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you
also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. When you 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.
What does it mean to be holy and blameless in God’s sight? First
of all, “holy” means to be set apart by and for God (and his service); “properly,
different (unlike); for the believer, means ‘likeness of nature with the Lord’
because ‘different from the world’” (http://biblehub.com/greek/40.htm).
The word “blameless” means “without blemish; faultless; figuratively speaking,
to be morally, spiritually blameless, unblemished from the marring effects of
sin” (http://biblehub.com/greek/299.htm).
It means that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins, i.e. he took our place
in dying for our sins so that when we come to him by his grace, through faith,
we have Christ’s righteousness credited to our account. Thus, we are
positionally righteous in God’s eyes because of what Jesus Christ did for us,
and not because of anything we have done to earn or to deserve our salvation.
Yet, is the purpose to be merely positionally righteous so
that we can go to heaven one day? Is the holiness and blamelessness for which
we were predestined only to be seen from a positional standpoint, i.e. that
which promises us both forgiveness of sins and eternity with God in heaven?
What was the object of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin? – Merely to give us hope
of heaven and forgiveness of sins? - Or, so that, in Christ, and in the power
of his Spirit within us, we might walk daily in his holiness and live blameless
lives? I believe scripture teaches that our salvation is both possessive and
progressive (See Heb. 10:10, 14), as well as it promises hope for our future. We
are not spiritually reborn just so we can go to heaven. We are to be set apart
for God and to be separate and different from the world, free from the “marring
effects” of sin, and becoming like Christ in our daily walks of faith while we
still live on the face of this earth (See Ro. 6; Tit. 2:11-14; Gal. 2:20).
Yet, in all practicality, we can never be completely holy
and blameless in our actions, thoughts and attitudes while we still live on
this earth, and while we still live in flesh bodies. So, living holy and
blameless lives is not about our performance in order to gain some kind of
approval from God. It is only because we have been made righteous in Christ
Jesus that we can now walk freely in the Spirit of God and in his holiness and
righteousness within us - free not just from the penalty of sin, but free from
slavery to sin (See Eph. 2:21; 5:3; 1 Pet. 1:15; 2:5; 2 Pet. 3:11; 1 Thess.
4:7; 2 Tim. 1:9; 2:21, et al).
Because of what Christ did for us, and in view of his mercy
to us, we are thus urged to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to him, which is our reasonable service of worship of him. We are
to no longer be conformed to the ways of this world, but we are to be
transformed in the renewing of our minds (See Ro. 12:1-2).
All of what Jesus Christ did for us in dying for our sins,
in being resurrected to life, in giving us new life in Christ by his grace,
through faith, and in making us holy and blameless in God’s sight is (and we
are) for the praise of his glory. In other words, all of this is for the
purpose of and is intended to result in a fitting recognition, worship and
celebration of who God is in all his righteousness and holiness; in all his
love and grace; in all his power and majesty; and in all his purity and
integrity. In other words, we do nothing in ourselves to deserve or to earn
such recognition for what Christ Jesus has done and is doing in our lives, so
again, this is not about performance. This is about us submitting to our Lord
in full submission to him, allowing him to work his will in and through our
lives, and for the purpose that his name alone should be honored and praised!
So, in all that he accomplishes in and through our lives, we give him all the
honor and praise, as well as our very lives themselves are to result in the
praise of Him for all that He has accomplished! Amen!
My Heart’s Desire
/ An Original Work / June 29, 2013
Based off Rm. 10; Lu. 9:23-26; Ep. 4:20-24
Loved Ones, Oh, my
heart’s desire
Is that you might come
to Jesus.
Many appear zealous
for God,
But they do not trust
in Him.
They have not
submitted to the One
Who saved them from
their sins;
Not forsaken their
sins,
Nor have they obeyed
their King.
The word of the Lord
is near you:
The word of faith we’re
proclaiming:
That you must confess
your faith
In Jesus as your Lord
and King:
Believe in Him as your
Lord,
And follow Him
where’er He leads.
Share the gospel; be a
witness,
And meet others’
needs.
Beautiful are the feet
of those
Who bring the good news
of Jesus:
Anyone who would come
to Him
Must deny himself
today;
Die to sin and self,
and
Let the Spirit
transform you in heart;
Put on your new self
in Jesus,
Yielding to the cross.
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