February 18 Daily Discovery
February 18 Daily Discovery - Read Ephesians Chapter 1
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
[2] Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
[4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
[5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
[6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
[7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
[8] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
[9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
[10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
[11] In 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:
[12] That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
[13] In 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,
[14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
[15] Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
[16] Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
[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:
[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,
[19] And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
[20] Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
[21] Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
[22] And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
[23] Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
To the Praise of the Glory of the Grace of God
Was Paul bored? Was he having a mischievous moment? Was he wanting to cause trouble? Was it his aim to create a debate that would persist through the ages of the church and become another issue that would be the source of division?
Paul had received a multitude of revelations directly from Jesus Christ. he was simply writing to people from the source of the revelations that he had received.
Like the other Apostles he was a Hebrew or a Jew. But not only a Hebrew, he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee among the Pharisees. Jesus Christ Himself stopped Paul and turned him around on the road to Damascus. Jesus sovereignly decided to intervene in Paul's life in a special way. Paul is teaching the Ephesians that God sovereignly rules in all things, even our salvation. Left to ourselves, we would not believe the gospel. We believe because the Holy Spirit of God generates this faith within our hearts through his Word. Paul did not struggle with a belief that he needed to follow the law in order to be pleasing to God in the New Covenant that he had made with Israel. Many others had this struggle.
He even confronted the Apostle Peter publicly over this and admonished him.
Peter was familiar with Paul's writings. I'm sure that he read them all.
2 Pet. 3:15-18
[15] And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
[16] As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
[17] Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
[18] But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Don't wrestle over the doctrine of the sovereignty of God in salvation and your election. Rest in it instead. Jesus was not surprised when you came to believe in Him. He is the Good Shepherd and He was seeking you, His lost sheep. You did not find Jesus, He was never lost. He found you!! Everything is to the praise of the glory of his grace!
The Mystery of the Restoration
The profits revealed that God would be restoring everything to Himself and that he would be giving a New Covenant to his people. He would remove their hard hearts and give them a soft heart and He would write His Word upon their hearts. It had been spoken to them but it had not yet been revealed how it would be accomplished. That's why the New Testament refers to them as mysteries. They had not been revealed under the Old Covenant and now in the New Covenant they are.
The Jews and the Gentiles would become one in his church. The Jews largely rejected Jesus Christ in His own city of Jerusalem and they continued to mostly reject Christ in every city where they heard the gospel. they especially struggled with being considered no better than Gentiles. They were okay with the Gentiles believing in Jesus but largely wanted them to become Jews as well.
But this redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross, His burial and resurrection restored more than just this rift in humanity. It dealt with the problem that started in heaven as well. Heaven and Earth had been divided when they were intended to be connected as they were in the garden before sin. The restoration addresses everything. Believing Humanity would be redeemed and rebellious Spirit beings would be judged. Then Heaven and Earth would be reunited.
The Security of Believers
We have been sealed by God's holy spirit . We are secure. The Holy Spirit is the earnest. He is the down payment made up on our hearts until we are completely redeemed.
All to the praise of the glory of the grace of God!
--------------
Continue Your Search
Do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
Follow
