Ephesians 1:1-2 ESV
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
What is written in this book of Ephesians is a letter that
Paul wrote to the saints in Ephesus, who were faithful in Christ Jesus. So, to
understand who this applies to, we should read a little section of chapter four
where it explains what it means to be “in Christ Jesus.”
“But that is not the way you learned Christ! — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:20-24).
This is the fundamental truth of the gospel of our
salvation. And, that is that coming to faith in Jesus Christ means that we, by
the Spirit, put off our old self, which is of the flesh, that we are renewed of
the Spirit of God in the spirit of our minds, and that, by the Spirit, we put
on the new self in Christ Jesus created after the likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness (cf. Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Pet.
2:24; 2 Co. 5:15).
But, this isn’t a one-time thing and then it is all over.
The scriptures are real clear that our salvation is continuous, and that our
faith must also be continuous to the very end of our days. We need to be
faithful in Christ Jesus. And, we need to be saints, i.e. we need to be holy in
all of our conduct, as a matter of our life course; as a matter of our walk of
faith.
In other words, we must walk (in lifestyle) according to the
Spirit of God if we want to have eternal life with God (same scripture
references as above).
So, this is speaking to those who have forsaken their former
lives of living for the flesh, who are faithful to Christ Jesus, and who have
put on Christ and his righteousness and holiness, as applied to their lives,
not just in theory, but in practice, in how they (we) walk (live our lives).
Ephesians 1:3-10 ESV
“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 to himself 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 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
So, this doesn’t apply to everyone who professes faith in
Jesus Christ. Not everyone who says Jesus is Lord has truly made him Lord of
their lives. Many people give lip service to the Lord but their hearts are far
from God, which is evident by how they conduct their lives day in and day out,
as a matter of habit and lifestyle. So, not everyone can claim these promises.
For, we weren’t chosen of God just to escape hell and to go
to heaven when we die. We who are genuinely in Christ Jesus by God-given faith
in him were chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless
before God, but not just positionally, but experientially, which is evident by
how we live our lives. We were chosen by God to live our lives separate
(unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the
likeness of Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of God.
God predestined us to be adopted as his children according
to the purpose of his will, which is that we would live holy and righteous lives,
by the Spirit, free from enslavement to sin, and that we would walk in
obedience to our Lord’s commands. For, this is for the praise of God! This is
for the praise of his glorious grace which instructs us to say “NO!” to
ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright and godly
lives while we await our Lord’s return (Tit. 2:11-14).
We who are in Christ Jesus by God’s grace, through God-given
faith in Jesus Christ – which submits to his Lordship, leaves behind the old
sinful self, and follows the Lord in obedience – have been redeemed through the
blood of Christ shed for us in his death on a cross. In his death Jesus bought
us back for God that we might now be God’s possession, and that we might honor
God with our lives (1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Pet. 2:24; Tit. 2:14; Eph.
2:10).
For, Jesus’ grace to us isn’t just a free ticket into heaven,
and it isn’t free license to continue in willful and often premeditated sinful
practices, either. His grace delivered us out of our bondage to sin so that we
can now be slaves of his righteousness, which is according to his will and
purpose for our lives (Rom. 6:1-23).
Ephesians 1:11-14 ESV
“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, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Again, we who have obtained an inheritance in Christ Jesus
are among all those who have been predestined according to the purpose of God.
And, again, his purpose is that we leave our lives of sin behind us to walk
with him in his ways and in his truth, that we continue to say “NO!” to sin,
and that we live godly, holy, and upright lives until the time Jesus comes to
take us home to be with him forever.
And, again, we who believe in Jesus Christ are to be for the
praise of God’s glory. And, we aren’t for the praise of his glory if we are
continuing in sinful addictions willingly, in direct disobedience to our Lord’s
commands. The two don’t mix, for the Spirit is opposed to the flesh and the
flesh is opposed to the Spirit, so those who are in the realm of the flesh can’t
please God.
And, the scriptures teach that we are slaves to whomever we
obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to
righteousness (Rom. 6:16).
And, they continue on to say that if we walk (in practice,
in lifestyle) according to the flesh, that we don’t have the hope of eternal
life with God, but we will die in our sins because we refused to die to our
sins (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Eph.
5:3-6).
So, those who have obtained an inheritance in Christ Jesus
are those who are walking (in conduct) according to the Spirit and not
according to their flesh. They have left their sinful lifestyles behind them,
and they are walking in obedience to the Lord’s commands – all because of God’s
grace – all because of what Jesus did for us in dying for our sins – and all in
the power and working of God’s Spirit now living within them.
And, the Holy Spirit living within us is our guarantee of
our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. But, the “we” here are those
who have crucified the flesh with its deceitful desires. We are those who
belong to Christ (Gal. 5:24). It doesn’t mean we are perfect, though, or that
we never fail, but it means that we are, by the Spirit, putting to death the deeds
of the flesh and that we, by the Spirit, are walking (in practice) according to
the Spirit.
Footprints of Jesus
Lyrics by Mary B.
Slade, pub. 1871
Music by Asa B.
Everett
Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
Come, follow Me!
And we see where Thy footprints falling
Lead us to Thee.
Though they lead o’er the cold, dark mountains,
Seeking His sheep;
Or along by Siloam’s fountains,
Helping the weak.
If they lead through the temple holy,
Preaching the Word;
Or in homes of the poor and lowly,
Serving the Lord.
Though, dear Lord, in Thy pathway keeping,
We follow Thee;
Through the gloom of that place of weeping,
Gethsemane!
If Thy way and its sorrows bearing,
We go again,
Up the slope of the hillside, bearing
Our cross of pain.
By and by, through the shining portals,
Turning our feet,
We shall walk, with the glad immortals,
Heav’n’s golden street.
Then, at last, when on high He sees us,
Our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus
End at His throne.
Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where’er they go.
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