As we learned in the previous two lessons, we were chosen before the foundation of the world. God is not bound by time ,as we are, so time presents no problem for Him. (these lessons are archived at http://www.unveilmyheart.blogspot.com) In His realm, time does not exist. He can see eternity to come as clearly as we see today. He has always known the problems we would face and planned an answer for every one of them. No problem we will ever face will catch God by surprise. If God in His great mercy and love saw the problem of sin and death and provided His son as a sacrifice for our sins, then certainly He has a plan for our every day situations and problems.
Just as a loving parent makes provision for his children and these plans are the result of many thoughts and much planning, the thoughts and plans which God has for us have been carefully laid out and designed before God's people or the world had a beginning. If God designed a plan for our eternal life, why would He leave us to our own defenses when it comes to other problems we will face? At this point you may want to read I Corinthians 10:13.
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” Ephesians 1:5
Election and predestination are the springs out of which the other spiritual blessings flow. ( Matthew Henry's Commentary)Think of election as our chosenness and predestination as being predesigned for blessing. We are “predesigned” for every spiritual blessing in Christ. It has always been God's purpose and plan that in time we would become his adopted children with all the privileges and inheritance of children. Jesus is the head of the election. He is God's Chosen and Anointed One. In the chosen Redeemer, we find the favor and plan of God for our lives. We must not fail to notice this was according to the pleasure of God's own will. It was His idea from the beginning that we would belong to Him.
In the Amplified Bible, we read verse 5, “For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His own will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent.]
Only those who are in Christ Jesus are pre-designed for these blessings. God looked out over time and saw each of us presented with the choice of accepting or rejecting His Son Jesus. It is our decision what we will do with Jesus Christ. By a choice of our own will we enter into the Redemption plan and every spiritual blessing.
Here I remind you of Lesson 1 where we spoke about our positional truth. It is our position “in Christ” where we find favor and every spiritual blessing mentioned in the previous lessons. I would encourage you to look into the gospels and the book of Romans for every reference to the words “in Him” or “in Christ.” One such reference is II Corinthians 5:27, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.” Many of us have been taught to invite Jesus into our heart but we haven't been taught that we are also grafted into Him.
In Colossians 3:3 we are told that our new and real life is hidden with Christ in God. I like to think of it as similar to a baby in the womb, that place of protection where every need is met while surrounded by the loving provision of the mother's own body. The same way the umbilical cord brings the nourishment needed for life and sustenance to a baby, we must find a place of trust and faith, dependent on God for every need. When we invite Him into our lives, He also invites us to find a place of habitation in Him. Picture yourself “hidden in Him.” See yourself resting close to His heart. That was His design and plan from eternity. If your new and real life is hidden with Christ in God, you may begin to see how you are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. He has provided the new birth experience so that we can share in all the blessings of the Son, even the divine nature. (II Peter 1:4) “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these promises we might be partakers of the divine nature.”
Succeeding lessons will be posted at http://www.aredeemedheart.com/ on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Why Am I Chosen? (Lesson 3 of My Identity in Christ)
Let's do a quick review of the previous lesson before beginning today. In the first three verses of Ephesians 1 we learned that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that is in the heavenly realm. In His love, God actually chose us, picked us out for Himself before the foundations of the earth. In verse 10, we read of God's plan in the fullness of time, when the time is ripe, to gather us to Himself where we will spend eternity with Him forever. The consummation of His great plan will be a glorious gathering of all those who belong to Him to live for eternity as His chosen ones.
Many questions may come to mind as you read the first fourteen verses of Ephesians 1. Perhaps you ask yourself when you receive these spiritual blessings. All these blessings were poured out on the Son, Jesus Christ, and held “in Him” until the day of your Redemption. On the day in which you trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, these blessings are lavished upon you. Long ago, before man or angels or any living thing was created, the Triune God settled on this plan and it was complete.
Take a look at the past tense used in verses 3-14. He “hath blessed us,” “hath chosen,” “having predestinated us,” hath made us accepted,” “we have redemption,” “hath abounded toward us,” “having made known unto us the mystery,” “have obtained an inheritance,” “were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,” and finally, “were given the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance.”
You may ask how these blessings come to you. As you read the first 14 verses, pay attention and perhaps mark the many references to our Mediator, Jesus Christ. He hath blessed us “by Jesus Christ,”
“through Jesus Christ,” “ in Christ,” and “in the Beloved.” Jesus, the God-Man, who came in human flesh made it possible for God's plan to be realized in your life.
You might ask, “Why did He choose me to be the recipient of all these spiritual blessings?” Knowing the mistakes and failures in my life and even the doubts and fears I've had in accepting His love for me, why would He choose me, a broken and struggling individual like myself? I love the Living Bible's translation of the answer to this question.
“Moreover, because of what Christ has done, we have become gifts to God that he delights in, for as part of God's sovereign plan we were chosen from the beginning to be His....” (v. 11)
Imagine for a moment a time when you received a treasured gift you'd longed to possess and the excitement you felt at that moment. I don't have to think far into the past to get a picture of that kind of experience. My grandson received a cherished gift for his ninth birthday just yesterday. His obvious pleasure was evident in the large smile and the light in his eyes. But, I'd like to focus on the words that followed. “Now, we don't have to work anymore to get this!” You see, he and his sister had spent time at home and at my house doing chores to earn enough money to buy this prized possession. While their responsibility to do chores is not over, they have realized the satisfaction of what they longed for.
Now, allow yourself to picture your person, your life as that perfect gift God has longingly waited for, gift wrapped with care and filled with all that will delight and bring pleasure to God. He actually chose you to be His gift before the foundations of the earth. ( the When) He longingly waited for you to choose His free gift of His Son Jesus Christ, the free gift of salvation. ( the How) All the beautiful attributes, gifts and blessings that are “you” were held “in Him” until your day of Redemption. You have, in a sense, been wrapped up in the package of the Lord Jesus Christ since before God created the heavens and the earth.
Picture God the Father, unwrapping a package, a long awaited gift, with excitement in His eyes and a delighted smile on His face. You are just what He wanted and planned for. You are the person He chose to lavish with all the spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, the Son.
Now, remind yourself you no longer have to work to find the delight of His smile,the pleasure in His eyes. He chose you to be His gift because He delighted in you before you were ever born. ( the Why)
Ask God to open your heart to trust in His great plan. Choose Him. Give Him the opportunity to open the package that is “you” and show forth His glory which has been His plan for your life since before time as we know it began.
Lesson 4 can be found at http://www.aredeemedheart.com/ on the page titled Heart Peace. If you or anyone you know has been looking for help in the areas of domestic violence, addiction or struggles with pornography, child sexual abuse or just need healing of wounds from past experiences of life, check out the Links and Resources page.
Many questions may come to mind as you read the first fourteen verses of Ephesians 1. Perhaps you ask yourself when you receive these spiritual blessings. All these blessings were poured out on the Son, Jesus Christ, and held “in Him” until the day of your Redemption. On the day in which you trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, these blessings are lavished upon you. Long ago, before man or angels or any living thing was created, the Triune God settled on this plan and it was complete.
Take a look at the past tense used in verses 3-14. He “hath blessed us,” “hath chosen,” “having predestinated us,” hath made us accepted,” “we have redemption,” “hath abounded toward us,” “having made known unto us the mystery,” “have obtained an inheritance,” “were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,” and finally, “were given the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance.”
You may ask how these blessings come to you. As you read the first 14 verses, pay attention and perhaps mark the many references to our Mediator, Jesus Christ. He hath blessed us “by Jesus Christ,”
“through Jesus Christ,” “ in Christ,” and “in the Beloved.” Jesus, the God-Man, who came in human flesh made it possible for God's plan to be realized in your life.
You might ask, “Why did He choose me to be the recipient of all these spiritual blessings?” Knowing the mistakes and failures in my life and even the doubts and fears I've had in accepting His love for me, why would He choose me, a broken and struggling individual like myself? I love the Living Bible's translation of the answer to this question.
“Moreover, because of what Christ has done, we have become gifts to God that he delights in, for as part of God's sovereign plan we were chosen from the beginning to be His....” (v. 11)
Imagine for a moment a time when you received a treasured gift you'd longed to possess and the excitement you felt at that moment. I don't have to think far into the past to get a picture of that kind of experience. My grandson received a cherished gift for his ninth birthday just yesterday. His obvious pleasure was evident in the large smile and the light in his eyes. But, I'd like to focus on the words that followed. “Now, we don't have to work anymore to get this!” You see, he and his sister had spent time at home and at my house doing chores to earn enough money to buy this prized possession. While their responsibility to do chores is not over, they have realized the satisfaction of what they longed for.
Now, allow yourself to picture your person, your life as that perfect gift God has longingly waited for, gift wrapped with care and filled with all that will delight and bring pleasure to God. He actually chose you to be His gift before the foundations of the earth. ( the When) He longingly waited for you to choose His free gift of His Son Jesus Christ, the free gift of salvation. ( the How) All the beautiful attributes, gifts and blessings that are “you” were held “in Him” until your day of Redemption. You have, in a sense, been wrapped up in the package of the Lord Jesus Christ since before God created the heavens and the earth.
Picture God the Father, unwrapping a package, a long awaited gift, with excitement in His eyes and a delighted smile on His face. You are just what He wanted and planned for. You are the person He chose to lavish with all the spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, the Son.
Now, remind yourself you no longer have to work to find the delight of His smile,the pleasure in His eyes. He chose you to be His gift because He delighted in you before you were ever born. ( the Why)
Ask God to open your heart to trust in His great plan. Choose Him. Give Him the opportunity to open the package that is “you” and show forth His glory which has been His plan for your life since before time as we know it began.
Lesson 4 can be found at http://www.aredeemedheart.com/ on the page titled Heart Peace. If you or anyone you know has been looking for help in the areas of domestic violence, addiction or struggles with pornography, child sexual abuse or just need healing of wounds from past experiences of life, check out the Links and Resources page.
Monday, August 30, 2010
CHOSEN
CHOSEN
Ephesians 1:4 “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 his love.”
Let's focus on the first part of this verse for a moment. Acceptance is so very important to us as human beings. We long to be loved and accepted not only by family but friends, classmates and co-workers. For many of you, a feeling of rejection may be something you have lived with for most of your life. Perhaps even now you are picturing a circumstance in which you were rejected or failed to be chosen for an activity or position you greatly desired. Even greater pain may accompany the thoughts or picture of the rejection of a particular person or persons in your life. You were not chosen but rejected and felt a sense of worthlessness, a person of no value. All of us will experience this in our lifetime repeatedly. Being rejected and even betrayed by others as well as being overlooked for positions of leadership or inclusion in others' plans will bring a pain of feeling unacceptable. But this verse clearly tells us God has chosen us in him before the foundations of the world.
Even if you have felt you were a mistake or accident or have been told you were a surprise and felt unwanted by the first persons who were to provide the love and acceptance you needed as a child, you were not a surprise to God. In Psalm 139:15-16, David declares that God's eyes were fixed on us in the earliest stages of being formed in our mother's womb. He knew us when we were nothing more than “substance” without hands, fingers, or toes. He took note of every detail as we were being formed but he knew us before we were ever conceived. I remember the day the Holy Spirit, the Revealer of God's plan, impressed these thoughts on my heart. I was reading the Message Bible and came to the scripture above....
“Long before He laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. “
Before He even spoke the world into existence or ever called out for the moon, the sun or the stars to shed light on this world, He had already spoken my name and planned a great future for me. The word “chosen,” in the original Greek language is eklego which is the compound of “ek” and “lego.” “Ek”means “out” and “lego” means “I say.” Literally, then, to be called chosen by God means to be “called out”. It means we are separated and set apart for the purposes of God. Eklego is used to portray the election or selection of individuals. It carries the idea of honor and privilege.
As we meditate on these thoughts today, I would like to share the picture God gave me when the Holy Spirit brought this verse alive to me. The words “focus of His love” continued to jump off the page each time I'd read the verse. I began to think of my recent experiences using a digital SLR camera to take photographs of my grandchildren. Some of my photos were too dark and lacked focus or were fuzzy around the edges. I had to remember what or who was to be my subject in order to get clear and focused pictures. Sometimes I had to adjust the settings in order to get the picture I desired. As I thought of looking through the lens at those beautiful grandchildren and how much I loved them, God spoke to my heart of His great love for me. His love so great, He looked out over the years to the time when I would be born and spoke my name and my purpose into existence. Long before I was even a picture on my parents' hearts, He made me the focus of His love.
God wants us to understand that He has had a picture of us in His heart since before the foundations of the world. In the Amplified Bible, verse 4 says “Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world....” I began to see God's decision to choose me was much like my decision to photograph my grandchildren. They have become the objects of my love and my heart is filled with great dreams and desires for their happiness, success and purposefulness. God's heart longs to see His purpose fulfilled in my life as He sees it through the lens of His love.
Every photographer has a shot he didn't expect through his own skill or expertise. It is not unusual to hear a photographer say, “I can't believe how great this turned out,” as if it was just happenstance. God has left nothing to chance. He has settled on us, focused His love on us and made a plan for our lives.
As we end today's lesson, I want you to imagine God is looking out through eternity through the lens of a camera. He has already adjusted all the settings to accommodate for any lies you have believed about yourself, any misconceptions about who you really are. Click! He snaps the picture and there before His eyes is a picture of perfection, a person made in His very own image, lacking nothing, complete in every way.
Have you ever uttered these words,”I don't like pictures of myself,” or “that is a horrible picture of me, just look at my hair, what I'm wearing”... and on and on we go. Can you make a choice today to accept this picture of you God has printed on His heart? Will you choose to believe He has chosen you personally from before He ever spoke one other part of creation into existence? Now, bring a picture to mind that you feel is one of the best representations of who you are, a picture you'd choose to put in the family album. Can we accept today that God's picture of us is more perfect than anything we can conceive—-the perfect photograph with no missing elements of light or color?
Today we focused on being “chosen” by the Creator God as the focus of His love. A continued lesson titled Why Am I Chosen? at http://www.aredeemedheart.com/.
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