September 27, 2014 TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
The more I learn about the gospel, I sometime find myself thinking that “this seems too good to be true”, even though it is absolutely true. What God has done for us is incredible to say the least and what He has done is based on His love for us. In Ephesians, chapter one, Paul list some of the ways in which the Lord has blessed us. In this chapter we find that we have been -blessed with every spiritual blessing- chosen by Him before the foundation of the world – holy and blameless before Him – adopted by Him according to His kind intention – His grace freely bestowed us – redeemed through His blood – forgiven –given the knowledge of the mystery of His will – obtained an inheritance – predestined according to His purpose and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The gospel, when received and believed, has a tremendous positive impact on our lives here on planet earth. Also, in many other scriptures we find that we have been given a new mind, a new heart and a new spirit. We have also been made overcomers in life, we have been given joy and peace, fear has been taken away, the power of sin has been broken, the love of God has been “shed abroad in our hearts”, our sins are forgiven, God is our real Father and Jesus is our real brother. However, all of the blessings we have here are merely pictures or introductions of what is to come. God has given the Holy Spirit as the “earnest” for our full redemption. I remember as a young person making a down payment on something I wanted and having it put on lay-a-way. What I had on lay-a-way was mine but I did not have possession. This analogy is not perfect in comparison but it does illustrate the fact that God has not taken full possession of His people, but He has made the down payment. Ephesians 1:13-14: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” God has indeed showered His blessings on us in this present life and He will continue His blessings in the life to come and this is all because He loves us. Beginning to understand the results of knowing God’s love for us affects our view of life and it affects how we live. Knowing what He has done on our behalf because He loves us is a life-changer for us. When we begin to understand His love, we read the scriptures through different lenses and instead of seeing the scriptures as “rules to keep”, we see the scriptures as revealing our true identity as sons and daughters of God who have been redeemed. The question for us is to what degree do we believe what the scriptures have to say regarding what God has done for those who belong to Him. It was the passion of Paul to make known the extent of God’s love for His people as we see in the prayer he prayed in Ephesians 1:18-19: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe…”
Blessings,
Buddy
The more I learn about the gospel, I sometime find myself thinking that “this seems too good to be true”, even though it is absolutely true. What God has done for us is incredible to say the least and what He has done is based on His love for us. In Ephesians, chapter one, Paul list some of the ways in which the Lord has blessed us. In this chapter we find that we have been -blessed with every spiritual blessing- chosen by Him before the foundation of the world – holy and blameless before Him – adopted by Him according to His kind intention – His grace freely bestowed us – redeemed through His blood – forgiven –given the knowledge of the mystery of His will – obtained an inheritance – predestined according to His purpose and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The gospel, when received and believed, has a tremendous positive impact on our lives here on planet earth. Also, in many other scriptures we find that we have been given a new mind, a new heart and a new spirit. We have also been made overcomers in life, we have been given joy and peace, fear has been taken away, the power of sin has been broken, the love of God has been “shed abroad in our hearts”, our sins are forgiven, God is our real Father and Jesus is our real brother. However, all of the blessings we have here are merely pictures or introductions of what is to come. God has given the Holy Spirit as the “earnest” for our full redemption. I remember as a young person making a down payment on something I wanted and having it put on lay-a-way. What I had on lay-a-way was mine but I did not have possession. This analogy is not perfect in comparison but it does illustrate the fact that God has not taken full possession of His people, but He has made the down payment. Ephesians 1:13-14: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” God has indeed showered His blessings on us in this present life and He will continue His blessings in the life to come and this is all because He loves us. Beginning to understand the results of knowing God’s love for us affects our view of life and it affects how we live. Knowing what He has done on our behalf because He loves us is a life-changer for us. When we begin to understand His love, we read the scriptures through different lenses and instead of seeing the scriptures as “rules to keep”, we see the scriptures as revealing our true identity as sons and daughters of God who have been redeemed. The question for us is to what degree do we believe what the scriptures have to say regarding what God has done for those who belong to Him. It was the passion of Paul to make known the extent of God’s love for His people as we see in the prayer he prayed in Ephesians 1:18-19: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe…”
Blessings,
Buddy
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