UNDERSTANDING MORE OF “GOD’S SO GREAT SALVATION” (2)
My prayer is that everyone who reads this mini series on “God’s so great salvation” will be so blest and more into a deeper intimacy with the Lord. Have you ever been the recipient of something as a result of a person’s dying and they have put in their will that you should receive an item of some kind or cash for example.
As I wrote in my last blog Salvation is SO MUCH MORE that receiving forgiveness and knowing you are going to heaven, there is this glorious inheritance that we find when we READ THE WILL (The Word of God) and discover all that is available to us now, EACH OF THESE ITEMS HAVE OUR NAME ON THEM.
I am going to spotlight some lines from a portion of the Will which we read in Ephesians 1: 1-11 NKJV and I will highlight (and comment) on them. I will also give it to you in various translations for you to read and meditate on, please ask the Holy Spirit to quicken this to you so that it is not just information but becomes revelation and personally your daily experience. I recommend you go over them more than once and learn to embrace all that is in the Will.
EPHESIANS 1:3-111
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has BLESSED US WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He CHOSE US us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having PREDESTINED us to ADOPTION as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us ACCEPTED in the Beloved.
In Him we have REDEMPTION through His blood, the FORGIVENESS of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE obtained, being PREDESTINED according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
AMP.N.T. May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!
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, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.
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 the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]—
[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor,
Which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence),
Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him,
[He planned] for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth.
In Him we also were made [God’s] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will,
N.L.T. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
PASSION Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts!
And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.
For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace —for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure!
Since we are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of his grace. This superabundant grace is already powerfully working in us, releasing within us all forms of wisdom and practical understanding. And through the revelation of the Anointed One, he unveiled his secret desires to us—the hidden mystery of his long-range plan, which he was delighted to implement from the very beginning of time. And because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.
Through our union with Christ we too have been claimed by God as his own inheritance. Before we were even born, he gave us our destiny; that we would fulfill the plan of God who always accomplishes every purpose and plan in his heart.
MESSAGE How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. 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. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living.
BLESSED WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING.
What is EVERY, I sure don’t know, but it is all we will ever need this side of heaven, the N.T. epistles open this us more and more, for example: Rom.8:37-39 NKJV Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
CHOSE US
God personally chose us, He knows our name.
PREDESTINED
Used twice in these verses, some think it is a “dirty” word, I don’t fully understand it, BUT GOD SAID IT, I BELIEVE IT, THAT SETTLES IT.
ADOPTED
God chose to take us who were orphans to bring us up as one of His own, we are God’s child, we are a son (or daughter) of God.
ACCEPTED
Not as a second class citizen, but totally accepted into the family of God, with all the rights and privileges and responsibilities of being in the Family of God.
REDEMPTION
Through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we were “brought out of the slave market of sin”, and declared NOT GUILTY. All the charges against us were dropped becuase of the finished work of Christ on the cross.
FORGIVENESS
Every sin, in the past, and until we enter the eternal Kingdom was dealt with through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. the slate has been totally wiped clean, when we fail Him, now we embrace 1 John 1:9 NKJV If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It was true when we came to Christ and were born again, but John was especially talking to believers, and we can quickly know “IT IS WELL WITH OUR SOUL” as we confess and repent of a sin. AMEN.
OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE
These verses share a little of what is written in the Will, may we spend MUCH TIME reading and meditating in the New Testament, for there is an ever expanding list of all that is In the Will WITH OUR NAME WRITTEN OVER THEM.
Naturally speaking, there are people who never find out (for some reason) what they inherited, and sadly, there are millions of born again Believers who are IGNORANT of what is written in the Will for them, and sadly also many Believers who know what is in the will, but are not using and taking their inheritance, and are therefore not living in the full victory that can be theirs.
May the above be a rich blessing to you, as you understand more and more and embrace your awesome inheritance in Christ amen.
