Month: March 2019

207.  Great Power

Ephesians 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.

A further promise resulting from enlightened understanding by the Spirit is that we know the exceeding greatness of his power toward us believers. We could never see this great power with our own senses or natural ability; we must have spiritual enlightenment to know how great the power of God really is, what it is, and how it works. Naturally, we can recognize the great power of God just by experiencing a thunderstorm close up or by understanding the explosive force of an atom bomb or even knowing the relentless force of gravity.

However, the spiritual power that saves, loves, forgives, changes lives, and gives new life is not seen or felt except by the eyes of faith, revealed by the Word and the Spirit. God must reveal to us the exceeding greatness of His power toward us. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The Cross looks like weakness and failure, but it is the greatest power ever unfolded in the history of the universe. What kind of power does it take to turn recalcitrant, rebellious,, proud, stubborn, and selfish sinners into dearly loved, forgiven, saved, and changed children of God? Love does not look like power, but it is the greatest power ever unleashed. To be enlightened enough to understand the exceeding greatness of that power the Word and the Spirit must show us two things: 1) how desperately weak, evil, ugly, and awful we really are as sinners, deserving nothing but eternal death, excruciating torture, and everlasting suffering, and 2) how total, unconditional, complete, and perfect is the love of God that forgivessin, destroys death, and gives a beautiful and wonderful life. This is the exceeding great power of Law and Gospel.

Real power has the effect of changing things drastically and permanently. We can imagine the destructive power of a tornado or a bomb destroying Sin, Death, and the Devil once and forever. That kind of power of God’s Love has utterly changed us from what we were into what we have become. Ask the Lord to give that revelation and understanding of His mighty power. It changes things; it changes us. No other power on earth could do that. God came to earth to do just that.

206. Enlightened Understanding

Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

God promises to enlighten our understanding. Enlightening is necessary because the soul lives in darkness; it does not see God; it does not know God, nor does it even want to. The Spirit enlightens through the Gospel; light comes through the Gospel and the soul sees(believes). The Word is absolutely necessary so that we can see into the darkness; we see the invisible when we study the Bible; that’s what the Bible is for: to see the unseen things of God and His Kingdom.

When the Spirit uses the Gospel to enlighten our understanding many wonderful things happen: two of these things are mentioned here: 1) we see the hope of His calling, and 2) we see the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

God calls us by the Gospel, and through faith gives us Hope, the present reality of what we cannot see naturally. The wonderful, invisible, spiritual things of God are clearly seen and, when seen, they are real, alive, and present: this is Hope. The call of the Gospel is compelling and beautiful, so as to be almost irresistible. However, God loves us so much that He allows the stubborn and rocky hard heart to resist and reject the Gospel if we really want to. He won’t force His Way as a slave master or military army or absolute monarch. The Spirit, with the Gospel, creates the faith to believe and receive, without force, but with love. 

The Call is overwhelming, but it does not overwhelm us. The Spirit does not overwhelm with love, but He does make it compelling. We believers often ask, “How can anyone reject such graceful love? Why would anyone say ‘No” to God’s grace? It is such Good News, and it is free.” It makes no sense to us who have answered the call. And now we have hope, and we see it.

We can now also see the riches of the glory. We are the inheritance for God: the saints are His inheritance. Gospel enlightenment means we see the glory, the riches, the beauty of God and His Church. The eyes of understanding see.

205. Wisdom and Revelation

Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

We have been given a spirit of wisdom and revelation; that’s a promise we may employ and enjoy. When we read and hear the Holy Scriptures the Spirit grants wisdom for life and revelation of Life. Generally, we receive revelations of Law and Gospel from the Word of God. Specifically, we receive revelations in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, so that we may know Him, and know Him better. We may constantly progress in the knowledge of Christ; we continually receive revelations about Christ, who He is, how good He is, and what He has done for us. We will never exhaust this knowledge, but we always make progress.

The inspired Scriptures make us wise unto salvation and reveal knowledge of Christ. The Spirit reveals new insights into Jesus, for which we say, “Wow, I didn’t know that before. Jesus did more for me than I ever thought. I know He is good, but not that good. Wow!” We learn to know Him more clearly as the Spirit reveals fresh insights into the Word of the Gospel. The Law tells us who we are and what we are; the Gospel tells us who Christ is and what Christ is for us. All these insights reveal wonderful things about Jesus (and bad things about us without Christ), and we grow to appreciate Him even more. The Spirit reveals Life in Christ, real, eternal, and wonderful Life.

The spirit of wisdom teaches us how to live wisely and well; and more, wisdom gives us the power and motivation to actually live rightly and wisely. For instance, we are driven to go to church, to hear the Gospel, to study the Bible and to pray. The desire to do such things is not natural to the natural man without faith in Christ. We need to believe the promise that He gives us. The spirit of wisdom is the third use of the law: a guide. After we believe the Gospel we want to know how to guide our life and make good decisions. The spirit of wisdom is the guide to a good life.

204. Earnest of Inheritance

Ephesians 1:14 [Spirit of promise] is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

We have an inheritance: it is the eternal kingdom of God; 1 Peter 1:4: “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” The eternal inheritance is kept in heaven for you. It is guaranteed unto us that we will surely receive it to live in and enjoy forever.

Jesus Christ purchased this inheritance for us by His blood as our possession. We have obtained it, we have it, and we own it. But it is still awaiting redemption when it will be ours to enjoy in real life. One Day we will see what we have now by faith.

But for now, while we live in this tent, sojourning in a foreign world, we have an earnest, or guarantee, of that inheritance. That earnest is the Spirit of promise who rules within our spirit. This inheritance of eternal life is as certain and sure as death and taxes. The Christian can live in confidence and joy because we know there is another life alongside this one, and after it. We look to the things that are not seen.

This spiritual, invisible, and eternal life is the only life that is real, because it does not end in death; it does not end. Everything else that we see will pass away, with some violence, even the very physical universe. The First Creation was made very good and meant to be enjoyed forever, but Sin entered into it and destroyed it by bringing in corruption and death. But the Lord will have His way and He will accomplish His purpose, creating a people that will love Him and enjoy Him forever.How wonderful it is that we the earnest of our inheritance right now!

203. Sealed with Spirit

Ephesians 1:13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.

You heard the Gospel and you believed; when you believed the gospel you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That’s a promise. The Holy Spirit that comes in with the Gospel is a seal that cannot be broken, dissolved or unsealed; the seal is tight and solid. We carry that seal within us all the time and in every circumstance of life. He is continually assuring our hearts in good times and in bad, in hot times and in cold, in crises as well as smooth times, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in life and in death. 

The Holy Spirit makes sure that we know that God is always with us, that God’s love never fails, that forgiveness is constantly and instantly present, and that all the very great and precious promises are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus. Being sealed with the Spirit of God means that we can count on Him to know our every need and meet it; we shall never lack for anything needful; and God is there to hear our prayers, and more than that, the Spirit in us even prays for us and puts into words the sighs and groans of our hearts.

 This kind of peace that passes understanding, the calm in the storm, and the assuranceof certainty settles our hearts and minds all the time. The promise of a seal is absolutely a wonderful blessing.

202. Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

We have obtained an inheritance. An inheritance in itself is a promise: something is coming when the testator dies. In this case the something comes when the heir dies. The inheritance is both something we already have and something that is still coming in the future.

This inheritance was predestined before we were born, even before the world was born. Our predestination was according to His purpose. The will of God comes from the heart of God; the heart of God is Love; the counsel of His will is the deliberate determination and decision that God has arrived at; it is derived from His basic will that all be saved. Love determines God’s will; Love determines the definitive decision to send His Son; Love determines the result of Jesus’ death and resurrection; Love determines our reception of the promised inheritance. God’s will is done.

We inherit God’s Name, God’s Life and God’s Kingdom. But another power, another death, and another kingdom cover it up so that we do not see it clearly. But because we don’t see it does not mean we do not have it. Faith obtains it just as God ordains it.  We do not experience the fullness of that inheritance yet, but we do have the Holy Spirit as an earnest, or guarantee, or down payment of the full inheritance. The inheritance is obtained by faith in the Gospel. The inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heavenfor us.” But for now, the Kingdom of God is within us.

The promise was first given to Abraham in Genesis 12 when God promised him and his descendants Land. The rest of the Biblical Story is the unfolding of that promise, culminating in the Resurrection.  The Land is the inheritance kept in heaven and sealed in our hearts, the Kingdom within.  

201. Wisdom and Insight

Ephesians 1:8Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

The promise is that Jesus abounds in wisdom and insight toward us. He doesn’t exactly give us wisdom, for it is His wisdom that Jesus shares with us. Jesus is the Wisdom of God. By wisdom, that is, by the Son, God created the universe. That kind of wisdom and insight He shares with us. He does indeed make us wise through the Word of God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” “The fear of the Lord” is a solid faith in the Lord God, the Father. The Holy Spirit does grant wisdom and insight through the Word. 

We always want and need wisdom; at times we actually crave it. God does not promise that we will ourselves be wiser, but He gives us Jesus, the Wisdom of God. He grants the person Himself, not just the quality. However, it is true that we will become wiser through the study of God’s Word, for therein is contained the person of Wisdom, the Son of God Himself. 2 Timothy 3:15: “The sacred writings…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to lead us to faith in Jesus, and so He makes us wise for salvation. The Holy Spirit graces us with salvation through the Gospel, He creates faith, and that is wise. We know how to be saved! That’s wisdom. It is wise to believe the Gospel.

When God Himself lives in us and teaches us His Word He makes wisdom and insight abound. The Spirit is the Teacher who shares insight and wisdom from the Bible almost every time we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it. He uncovers and discovers a lot of things that we would not know from any other source. Thus the Bible is a “revelation.” The “us” in this promise, of course, is the believers in Christ who hear the Gospel and study the Word. Searching the Scriptures will always bear fruit; wisdom will abound; and insights will be revealed. The wise life is a good life, and that’s what God promises the believer. 

200. Redemption and Forgiveness

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Redemption is equated with forgiveness of sins. When sins are forgiven we are redeemed, bought back from slavery to sin, from kidnapping by the devil, and from subjection to fear of death.The grace of Christ is so rich that by Christ’s work we have been given freedom and life. In Christ we have redemption and forgiveness; we cannot buy our own emancipation nor can we earn forgiveness. 

Grace is so amazing that we cannot comprehend how many riches it earns for us. Grace is everything that Christ has done for us, bought for us, and given to us. We cannot plumb the depths of grace by our own understanding so that we must pray to comprehend how broad and long and high and deep. We cannot see it all; we must believe it is bigger than we ever imagined before.

One reason we cannot understand the riches of grace is that we cannot believe it has nothing to do with us. Shouldn’t I have to do something? Another reason we cannot believe it is that we cannot imagine anyone being that good. We have not experienced anyone being that gracious. Another reason we cannot understand the grace of God is that we don’t want to believe how evil we really are, how awful sin actually is, and how far away from God we have strayed. Grace is not so big if I am not so bad. Another reason we do not comprehend grace is that we do not know the real cost of the redemption price. It is more than the death of a man or even the death of the Son of God. It is more than suffering and dying innocently; it is also the separation of the God-man from God because of my sin. Another reason we don’t understand grace is because we don’t see the power of mercy and forgiveness; we don’t feel the power moving through the depths of our own being.

We are redeemed; we are forgiven. That’s a promise God has kept.

199. Accepted in the Beloved

Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

We are accepted in Christ. This is a more wonderful promise than it at first appears. For human children need and even long for simple acceptance. When we know we are accepted for just who we are we are comfortable and calm; we can be at peace simply knowing we are loved. Children especially need to know they are accepted for just being a child of Mom and Dad. 

Children may seek attention, whether it is by being good or being bad doesn’t even matter, but what they really need is acceptance. Young people are looking for relationships in which they can be comfortable. When they find a person who seems to accept them as they are they establish close friendships, and when someone of the opposite sex accepts them they are likely to be married to him or her. If that acceptance continues it’s “happily ever after.” Happy and mutual companionship based on simple acceptance makes for a long and happy marriage. “Family” is a place and condition where one feels accepted.

We never lose that need for acceptance in all relationships all our life long. We don’t know we are seeking acceptance, but it is an unconscious driving force in most social interaction. When we find a relationship in which we feel accepted as we are we know we have found something special. Once we sense that we are accepted as we are by someone, we tend not to be so careful in words and behavior, and that means less stress. When I can say, “I am loved; I am accepted,” I have reached a point of contentment and peace. 

Acceptance by God is extremely important for peace of mind and tends to promote a stress free life. When we know God accepts us we are “converted.” Call it love or tender care, forgiveness or salvation, but acceptance is at the root. If we are baptized into Christ and we believe in Him we are accepted in the Beloved. God accepts us completely and unconditionally because of Jesus Christ. Not only are we accepted into heaven, or into God’s presence, but also we are accepted by God, the person. God does not accept all our behavior, but He does accept all of the person; and this acceptance is a permanent condition. No matter what our condition or situation or predicament or guilt or shame We Are Accepted in the Beloved. Forever.

198.  Adoption of Children

Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ in himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

God has a will and it is good; God has a happy pleasure in carrying out His will. The will of God is grounded in the nature of God, which is at base Love. The inherent and primal nature of God is Love, and it is love that determines God’s will.His good and gracious will determines God’s predestined action: to adopt us as children. Making us obedient and loving children is God’s ultimate will, His final purpose, His happy pleasure. In the final analysis, Love determines and predetermines what God will ultimately do.

God loves children, and He chooses to adopt us as children. God’s choice of me, just me (and all the “ME’s,” like you), puts me in a special category: I am a specially chosen child of God. God deliberately chose to create me and to redeem me so that I may be His own and live with Him in His family. My God and Father carried out that plan in human history in the greatest detail, fulfilling every prediction and promise in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Father God picked me out of all the billions of human beings and adopted me as His. I give God pleasure, and, believe it or not, I make Him feel good, and He is a proud papa.

All in all, I am special to Almighty God; and so are you; and so is each child of His, even though there may be as many as “the stars of the sky or the sands of the sea.“ We don’t know how God can make each one of many special, but he does. But we don’t have to figure it out; we just believe it. That specific belief frees me to enjoy this life and the eternal life I have been given. I have no need to struggle to be noticed, to gain attention; I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain, nothing to lose by what I do and what I have accomplished. But since God does it all I just thank Him and give Him praise by casting down my golden crown, after I receive it by grace. Giving God all the credit sets me free. Yes, I am a special child of God. Yes, God smiles upon me, He rejoices over me with gladness, He quiets me by His love, He shines His face upon me, and He blesses me with extravagant grace. Luxuriate in the promise.