“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.” (Ephesians 1:3)
Notice in this Scripture that the verb is past tense. He has blessed. It is done already even though we still live here in this world. When we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God blessed us immediately with every spiritual blessing, not just some or only one, but every spiritual blessing. When we pray, “Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are praying that those spiritual blessings in heaven will bless us here in this world now. God’s Will is for us to have these blessings. We have them here in this world.
What are these spiritual blessings? One is holiness before God. We may not be acting holy, because we are giving in to the flesh, but when we made Jesus our Lord and Savior, our spirit was born of God. It’s pure and holy. It’s time we start putting away the desires of the flesh and start behaving like children of the Lord God Almighty. How can kings and priests give in to the power of darkness? It’s very inappropriate. Worldly pleasures are fleeting and bring sorrow. Holiness is eternal. Before the creation of the world, the Lord destined all men to holiness, but not all yielded to God and instead reject Him. “Even 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 God had already decided that through Jesus Christ, He would make us His children—this was His pleasure and purpose.” (Ephesians 1:4-5)
Our sins are forgiven. They are forgiven eternally. They are cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb. We have that forgiveness now, here in this world. We live free from the shame and guilt of sin. When we were in our sin, our spirits were dead, but now we are alive eternally. “Let us praise God for His glorious grace, for the free gift He gave us in His dear Son! For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which He gave to us in such large measure! In all His wisdom and insight” (Ephesians 1:6-8)
The Lord has made known to us His plan for all of His creation to the end of the age. “Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself. God made peace through His Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to Himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.” (Colossians 1:20) The Lord has made us part of His plan, as we share about His merciful Love. “God did what He had purposed and made known to us the secret plan He had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This 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.” (Ephesians 1:9-10) In heaven the elders and angels are singing and giving God glory for His marvelous plan, which He had since the beginning of time. “They sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals. For you were killed, and by your sacrificial death you bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race.” (Revelation 5:9)
We are now co-inheritors with Jesus. Think about that. Think how mighty Jesus is and how greatly praised He is in heaven. We inherit the glory with Him. Hard to imagine, but it’s true. God Who sees the end from the beginning sees us seated with Jesus in the heavenlies. “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Ephesians 2:6) Notice the verbs. They are past tense. It’s done already in God’s eyes. We can see how our worldly desires, thoughts, words and deeds are inappropriate where God sees us. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Corinthians 3:18) With each battle, struggle and difficulty when we obey the Holy Spirit instead of our flesh, it’s a victory, a step or as the Bible tells us it’s going from glory to glory being changed into the image of Christ. “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:11-12)
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit. He’s the guarantee of what’s to come. It’s living in the supernatural plane of God here in this world. “But the solid foundation that God has laid cannot be shaken; and on it are written these words: "The Lord knows those who are His" and "Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing."(2Timothy 2:19) We are to depart from evil because the Holy Spirit Who lives in us is grieved. Would you grieve the Holy Spirit Who is part of the Godhead living with us? He is grieved with our many traitorous sins. “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30) This is a commandment. “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. The 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!” (Ephesians 1:13-14) We belong to God. We are part of the beloved. “To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6)
Comments