The Purpose of His Will

Ephesians 1:1-10 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.

“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.”

Promises of God

Whenever we read a promise of God in the Scriptures, we need to look and see who that promise is for. For, not every promise of God is for us specifically, and not every promise of God for his people is for everyone who makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And all of God’s promises have conditions, and so before you make a judgment about these verses, please take the time, if you are able, to read the whole book of Ephesians, for you will find the conditions and the stipulations contained within the book.

Okay, so first of all, who are these promises for? Paul addressed these words to the “saints” who are in Ephesus, but these promises are not just for them, but they are for all the saints. But these words were also addressed to the “faithful in Christ Jesus.” So, let’s look at those words and what they mean. 

The saints are believers in Jesus Christ who are holy unto God, set apart by and for God who are unlike (different) from the people of the world because we are being made into the likeness of the nature and character of Jesus Christ, if we are his true saints. So, we should be those who are standing out as different from the world, who are no longer conforming to the ways of this sinful world, but who are walking in holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, not necessarily in absolute perfection, though.

And the faithful in Christ Jesus are those who are faithful to God and to his word and to walks of obedience to him and to his commands. We are the trustworthy, the reliable, who take God and his word seriously, and who walk in fellowship with the Lord in living as we ought to live, no longer in slavery to sin, but now as servants of the Lord Jesus. We are those who have been persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent (turn from) our sins to walk in obedience to our Lord, and so we have surrendered our lives to Christ.

Now I am not suggesting that we are perfect people or that we have arrived or that we did not have to learn a lot of things the hard way as we grew in our walks of faith in the Lord. But what I am saying is what God says, which is that if our faith is genuine, we will now be those who make obedience to our Lord and walks of holiness and righteousness our practice, and sin will no longer be our habit, our addiction, and what we practice. Our lives will be committed to following our Lord and not to chasing after sinful habits.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Chosen of God

Now, we who are God’s holy people, who are the faithful in Christ Jesus, are chosen by God for a very specific purpose, and it isn’t just to forgive us our sins so that when we die we can go to heaven. He chose us to be holy and blameless before him. For Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And he said that if we are going to come after him that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self), and follow him (in obedience to his commands under the New Covenant) (see 1 Peter 2:24; Luke 9:23-26).

We who have surrendered our lives to Christ, and who are walking in his ways, and who are no longer living in deliberate and habitual sin, but who are walking in holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, in the power of God, are those who have these promises. Again, we are not perfect people, but we are those whose lives are committed to serving the Lord Jesus with our lives and who are no longer living in deliberate sin.

We are being blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We have redemption through this blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. But redemption means that he bought us back for God out of our lives of sin so that we will now honor God with our lives. This is not just a get-out-of-jail-free-card. And all this is according to God’s will and purpose for our lives, which is that we obey him and that we not walk in sin but that we now walk in righteousness and holiness, to the praise and glory of God.

So, be careful that you don’t falsely claim these promises of God for yourselves if your lives are not committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you are still walking according to the flesh in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of holiness and righteousness in obeying our Lord and his New Covenant commands. For the Scriptures are very clear on that subject. For if sin is our practice (our habit), and righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will NOT inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

What the Lord Says  

An Original Work / February 24, 2014 

Based off Isaiah 43:1-44:5

This is what the Lord says to you:

Fear not, for I have chosen you.

I have summoned you by your name.

You are mine. I died, you to save.

When you go through your trials, so deep,

I will be with you; you will not sink.

You are so precious always to me.

Trust in your Lord, Savior and King.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who gave salvation to you;

Who delivered you from your sin;

Takes your burdens now upon Him:

Forget the former things of your life.

Give of your heart not now up to strife.

See all the new things I have for you.

Walk in vict’ry. Trust in what’s true.

This is what the Lord says to you:

He who made you; who will help you:

Do not fear what humans may do.

Walk in freedom. Follow what’s true.

Drink of my Spirit given for you.

Trust in my mercy, for I love you.

I have a plan for all of your life.

Follow my ways. Do what is right. 

https://vimeo.com/87634334