Read Ephesians 1:3-14
3 Let us give thanks to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us
by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world. 4Even
before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our
union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him.
Because of his love 5Godb
had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his sons and
daughters—this was his pleasure and purpose. 6Let us praise God for
his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! 7For
by the bloodc of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are
forgiven. How great is the grace of God, 8which he gave to us in
such large measure!
In all his wisdom and insight 9God
did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already
decided to complete by means of Christ. 10This plan, which God will
complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything
in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.
11 All things are done according to God’s
plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ
because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very
beginning. 12Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ,
praise God’s glory!
13 And you also became God’s people
when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You
believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the
Holy Spirit he had promised. 14The Spirit is the guarantee that we
shall receive what God has promised his people, and this assures us that God
will give complete freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!
Think
In verses 4-7 Paul reminds us that God chooses to adopt us, forgive us,
love us, make us right. This is hard to
accept in world fixated on work and reward.
How could God love us so unconditionally?
Pray
Help me to accept the truth of your unconditional forgiveness of my sins,
your adoption of me as your child and the work that you do in me to help me to
become more like you.
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