United In Christ
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Ephesians 1 and Psalm 61 (NIV)
(Lyn Tan, Archivist)
READ & OBSERVE:
After a warm greeting (1:1-2), the apostle Paul affirms the nature of the church – the glorious fact that believers in Christ have been showered with God’s kindness (1:3-8), chosen for greatness (1:9-12), marked with the Holy Spirit (1:13-14), and filled with the Spirit’s power (1:15-23).
The first eight verses reaffirmed for me the immense magnitude of God’s love for mankind.
v3…. God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us…. with every spiritual blessing
v4… he chose us….to be holy and blameless in his sight
v5….predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ….
v7….we have redemption through his blood…. forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
v10….to bring all things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ.
According to God’s eternal, loving plan, he directs, carries out, and sustains our salvation. In Christ, we have all the benefits of knowing God – being chosen for salvation; being adopted as his children; receiving forgiveness, insight, and the gifts of the Spirit; having the power to do God’s will and the hope of living forever with Christ. The best part is that we can enjoy these benefits now, because we have an intimate relationship with Christ.
The apostle Paul says that God ‘chose us in him’ to emphasize that salvation depends totally on God. We are not saved because we deserve it, but because God is gracious and freely gives salvation. We did not influence God’s decision to save us; he saved us according to his plan. And God’s purpose was to unite Jews and Gentiles in one body with Christ as the head.
APPLY:
I am forever grateful. God chose me and I belong to him through Jesus Christ. He looks at me as if I had never sinned. All I can do is express my thanks for his wonderful grace.
‘Grace, grace, marvelous grace’ – without it, no person can be saved, and I acknowledge that only God can save.
I am also part of his eternal plan, to be united with other believers in one body, that is, the church.
At Wesley Church, we are able to enjoy the spiritual blessings in Christ, together as one united body under Christ, as we nurture and maintain the unity of the church.
DO:
‘Faithful in Christ’ is a label that I would like to be honored with. To do that, I will persevere to hold fast to my faith, one day at a time, faithfully obeying God, even in every detail of my life.
I will strive to be a faithful member of the church, working together with the other parts in unity of purpose.
Like David in Psalm 61, I will persevere to praise God through the good and difficult times of my life because I know that God will never abandon me.
PRAY:
Dear Heavenly Father, I am eternally grateful for the open arms that are waiting for all who come to the knowledge of your saving grace. May your message continue to be preached far and wide so that your purposes will be fulfilled in heaven and on earth. Grant me the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know you better, that my heart may know the hope to which you have called me. Keep me ever faithful, in Jesus’ most precious name, Amen.
