Chapter Two.
I love those words in the above verses.
As they are clearly God speaking to us even right through time to this day and reaching out to those who would but believe and take them His words of TRUTH into their hearts.
The Holy Spirit is speaking through Paul, and here we are being told that God, He ’chose us’ and we are to accentuate that deliverance, and it is in God as we are not saved by good works or because we deserved it.
(I certainly was not)
Look at Paul who was originally known as Soul, he began persecuting the Christians and actively encouraging others to murder them.
Did he Paul deserve Gods love?
Yet God reached out to Paul an in love he forgave him offering him a new life in him, Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
Paul did not influence God’s decision to save us. No, God had already put into place a plan before we were even born into this world
Therefore, we cannot take any credit for our salvation, or allow pride in actions we did not take or were responsible for.
Who are we to understand the timeless mind of God?
I find it difficult to understand how God could even love me, knowing the sheer stupid blunders and mistakes I have made, and in my youth, O the sins of my heart were many.
In my eyes, I did not deserve a single drop of his grace, mercy and love. But he considered my heart, he saw me then as a youth, and how I am today, and He, God, knew me before I was even born, and like any loving Father he loved me a prodigal son. And he reached out and embraced me and gave me oceans of his grace, mercy and love.
He did the very same thing for you, and incredibly even those who have not yet come to love him, those who have not yet accepted Christ Jesus into their lives as their Lord and Saviour.
He God loves you and is waiting for us to Point the Way to Jesus so others can receive that very same grace, mercy and love, and come to have the blessings in their lives and be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Draw nearer to God in all that you do, take these verses into your heart, believe and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and your life will then Point the Way for others who see the light of Christ shining through you in unity with the Church the body of Christ, and you can also start winning hearts and souls for Jesus, to Gods Glory.
I have had people say. How can God accept me?
But it is because of Christ Jesus, in your faith and action, and in him once you believe and repent, inviting him Jesus, into your life, this sounds incredible, but you become holy and blameless through Jesus Christ.
God chose you, yes, he, God chose you as he chose me, even before we were born.
How amazing is that? And once you can wrap your mind around that truth, we begin to realise the depth of Love, mercy and grace given to us, and the hope we have in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
It is like placing it in context, that you commit dreadful crimes and deserve to go to court and be sentenced, and you know you are guilty. And before the judge can pass sentence which is certain death.
Someone stands up and voluntary takes your place and wiping your slate clean of ever having sinned.
That is what God through Jesus did for each and every one of us. Billions of times over, reaching out in love and offering us a new life in him as our Lord and saviour.
The scriptures tell us we were predestined.
This means it was not anything that we did, God in his infinite wisdom and love, mercy and grace, adopted us into his family as his own children.
He God became flesh of man through Christ Jesus, and through the sacrifice of Christ, he, God brought us into his family making us heirs along with Jesus. If you still require further clarification on the word adoption, then view Galatians 4:5-7.
Whatever we do, it can never compare to the love God so freely gave to us in the one he loves, in that Christs blood points to two amazing truths, - redemption and forgiveness.
Redemption is the price which God paid to gain our freedom. The death of Jesus paid that price to release us from the bondage of sin.
Forgiveness was granted during the Old Testament times, in the shedding of animal blood. Just look at Leviticus 17:11. You can also view Romans 5:9. Ephesians 2:13, Colossians 1:20, Hebrews 9: 22 and 1 Peter1:19.
And remember we never earned this, it was given in grace, and whatever you do, we cannot earn salvation, nor do or would we deserve it.
Yet so many, act and think as if that is exactly what they need to do.
No religious or intellectual, or even moral actions can earn this for you. It is only by God’s grace, mercy and love, and understand, that no person can receive it any other way.
We need to concede in our hearts and minds that there is no other way and that we cannot save ourselves and that the Holy Spirit is God’s seal that we belong to him.
How wonderful is that?
So why some ask, do we get given the Holy Spirit?
In simplistic terms, the Holy Spirit is the source of the power delivered to us by God through the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus. It is also if you read verse 13-14.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s passion – to the praise of his glory.
I have had my name attacked, abused, misused and my ministry, reputation and integrity come under question by false accusers and attackers of the truth.
My computer has been hacked so many times that it almost brought me to depression and despair and feeling like giving in, heck they accessed my bank details and at one time wiped everything clean away. Well it looked like that to me.
I even had my email accounts hacked and was unaware until one time I received an email apparently sent by me offering lude undesirable, sinful things. My ministry and walk with God have been under attack for years.
I now am aware that other Christians seeking to draw near and walk with God, both men and women of God and their ministries have faced such similar attacks.
God knows my heart, he knows me, and the truth is the truth, simply ask the people who my ministry has helped in the past.
Only now I know how to fight back. I know how to stand on God’s living word. I know how to have a mind attitude and refuse to give in even if the apparent evidence appears to show otherwise.
Satan through some people gets them to go on the attack and say you use an electric wheelchair for your mobility, where is your faith? It is the lack of such faith, that is why you were not healed.
How cruel is that?
The truth is the truth, and in God’s word I can stand on a sure unbreakable foundation knowing now in my eyes and mind set, in who I trust.
It is God, it is he, God I desire to please and draw near to. Not man or the world. It is Jesus I look to, and it is Jesus who I Point the Way to.
I say again, the truth is the truth. Satan is not going to break that. Yes, there have been times in my life where I have made stupid mistakes and stunted my walk with God.
I think it must be a man thing, and a problem certain male are prone too, and it is called pride.
And if I held onto the me complex and pride. I was limiting the growth of the Holy Spirit in me, by causing strife and dis-unity between me and God’s living word.
I was leaving myself exposed, and in my pride, I did not even see it. Yet God never abandoned or forgot me. No, I failed him, my God. Yet he, God, gave me a living ocean full of his love, mercy and grace, he has been long suffering towards me, and in my case, it was a long, long time, yet he kept loving me and drawing me nearer to him, even, when I was turned away from him.
He chose me before I was even born, and nothing I could do would ever make me worthy, yet God loved me and will always love me. I understand that now, my spiritual eyes have been opened.
Therefore, should I show any less love to another, the truth is the truth and no amount of lies from Satan will rob that truth.
And incredibly God led me to His teaching because he, God knew I needed to hear and learn certain truths which the Word of God is still teaching today.
Should we therefore not do the same and extend that love and truth to others? And seek to win hearts and souls for Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
I have had people curse me and threaten to destroy me and my ministry, and for a time I became wounded in the Spiritual battle. I allowed it to scare me, but no longer.
God has in His grace given me a season and a time of rest, my prayers were answered and he, God placed me among strong Holy Spirit filled brothers and sisters in Christ while I live in Poundbury, and I am been fed the word, and given grace and love and understanding so I can rebuild.
My prayers were answered and one day my spiritual eyes were opened in reading Ephesians 1:3.
Once you grasp that in Christ you are blessed with every Spiritual blessing, once your spiritual eyes become open, then you also open your heart to the power of those blessing through God’s Holy Spirit. And you can restart that journey pointing the way to Jesus
It is in these few short verses that so much power and truth is revealed. And the Holy Spirit spoke these words to Paul not only for those of his time, but right through the age to us of today and of tomorrow.
The truth is the truth.
I would like us to understand the true nature of God, as it relates to the opening scripture and is important in helping us to understand just who God is and in how we view his sovereignty in our lives.
I also believe it will help you in your walk and ministry in your life.
Now apply that to our opening verses Ephesian 1:3-23.
I stated earlier that for many Christians they have unknowingly accepted false teaching into their lives and become blinded to the true word of God. As they have allowed thoughts into their lives that are incorrect.
There are many scriptures which could verify this, but look at Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
The word of God as found in our scripture’s states clearly that grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus.
That is an essential piece of information.
In learning in our understanding of the Nature of God. Most people try to obtain such grace and peace in their lives through prayer.
Or others look to the Elders and leaders to help us obtain this grace and peace by our means and not that of Gods, and how scriptures clearly set before us, a path in which to follow.
Scripture says that the way grace and peace is multiplied to you is through the knowledge of God.
Scripture clearly teaches that wrong knowledge produces wrong results. And I can relate to this in my own life having allowed pride to step in, as in the past, and only partly believing what the scriptures told me.
I remember in one church I attended they taught false knowledge, standing at the front and clearly stating not all scripture was true, and that there was no Adam and Eve and the scriptures in the Bible are for interpretation.
I left that church, but others did not.
Did you know our faith is based on knowledge?
Just think about that for a moment and set it in context with wrong knowledge? No wonder Satan laughs having blinded so many to the truth.
Incorrect knowledge will always produce wrong faith, as such Scripture states that if we are not getting the desired results, that it can guarantee somewhere in our lives along the journey we have taken lies a misconception in how God deals with us. Somewhere seeds of misconception and lies have been sown.
The next verse says in verse 3. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory to goodness.
Note I underlined everything, that means (all things) which we need for a godly life.
And that our Knowledge, (I underlined that word knowledge as well.) Of him who called us by his own glory to goodness.
Listen again, all things that pertain to life and virtue are given unto us through him. (EVERYTHING).
If we have a need for healing, then you need to understand and believe in Gods word, He cannot lie.
Now it is here your faith sits, I know my God can heal me and deliver me, but also know and understand this, if for whatever reason my God choses to not heal or deliver me, it will not change my faith or belief, I will not bow to Satan nor will I believe his lies.
Every matter in our lives, be it finances or whatever.
Then if we doubt or listen to those lies and misconception of truth as according to God’s word and my understanding of it. Then we do not fully know God having believed he cannot and has not already provided.
I have had people especially Christian leaders, get angry with me over this, telling me to my face that the statement I just gave is far too simplistic, and that I am living in a dream world.
Yet when I ask them, ‘Do you believe the Bible is the real word of God?’ They usually answer in one of two ways. Either. Yes, or no.
Yet when I then point out scripture to those who say yes, they are just blinded and say I am taking it too literally. Let me ask again. Do you believe in the Word of God?
Think about that.
As your answer will affect how you live your life from this moment onwards.
Please do not take what I am saying as an attack, I am not condemning you or meaning to be offensive.
But you need to establish in your minds and heart just who and what God is.
