Ephesians has, for nearly as long as I can remember, been my favorite book of the Bible. Studying some of the first 3 chapters this morning has reminded me why.
The description Paul gives of the incredible blessings that God has lavished on us, His children, is amazing. He blessed us with every spiritual blessing, He chose us, He predestined us, He adopted us, He made us accepted, He sealed us, He guaranteed our inheritance, He gave us hope, riches in glory, and His own power, He raised us up with Christ, He seated us with Him in Heaven.
And He did this when we were dead, in trespasses and sins, following the ways of the devil, gratifying our own cravings, as objects of wrath.
As a result, we believers are all built carefully together, in one body, at peace with each other, a unified building, in which God Himself dwells, to the praise of His glory.
Paul makes it clear in his first prayer for the Ephesians (1:15-23), that his desire is that they would really know this. In fact, this is the whole basis of his prayer: see the “therefore” in verse 15, and the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, enlightenment, and more knowledge that he prays for in verses 17-18.
Oh that this knowledge would transform our lives! It certainly has the power to (1:19). If only we would appropriate that power in our own lives.
April 12, 2008 at 8:47 pm
good post, I’m looking forward to the diagram you are working on (as well as the rest of the Calvinism posts!)
I think your last statement in the post: “If only we would appropriate that power in our own lives” begs the question how?