Ephesians: All of Grace (1:11-14)

"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory," (Ephesians 1:11---14).

*By His sovereign initiative, and according to His preordained plan, the omnipotent God of all that is willed that His elect ones would inherit eternal life through salvation in His Son.

Such inheritance is to the praise of His glory, being granted totally from all eternity by His uncoercible love.

Is this promised inheritance secure? Considering that a promise is only as valid as the one making it, yes! For it is the Creator of the universe, the One whose mere word spoke everything into existence, who so promises our prepared place with Him throughout the eons.

Who's pledge would be more dependable?

And should we doubt the bare giving of His word, He deigns to take up personal residence within His own in the Person of the blessed Holy Spirit!

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him," (Romans 8:15, 16).

So the presence, ministry, urging, gifting, comforting, convicting ministries of the Holy Spirit within us confirm the truth that He resides therein... and particularly in His taking the Word and applying it as we need it the most.

And He is given as a down payment, a guarantee of things to come. As the Lord Jesus put it so beautifully, "If it were not so, I would have told you."

How utterly gracious of our Lord to give such reassurance to His men, and by extension to us!

As life's ebbing becomes more and more keenly felt, and the energies of younger years increasingly wane, these assurances of Scripture become all the more cherished, as does the One who promised them.

Ephesians: All of Grace (1:8b-9a)

"...In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will.."

*In matters eternal,if it isn't revealed it's concealed. It's either revelation or speculation. Had God determined to withhold inspiration of His Word, we would not know His heart, His provisions or His prohibitions. We would be left to guess what happened before we were born, and what will transpire after we are gone.

Such speculation is exactly what the non-Christian engages in, since he "does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised," (I Corinthians 2:14). Notice the distinction between "does not accept" (refusal), and "cannot understand" (inability). Apart from the regenerating and revealing work of the Holy Spirit, there is no spiritual discernment, no comprehending God's workings, wills, and ways.

*For the redeemed one, however, God graciously makes known His perspective (wisdom), and understanding (insight). By the faithful ministry of the resident Holy Spirit, the Christian is able to appraise the spiritual dimensions of life, thereby experiencing a God-awareness unknown to lost humanity.

Ephesians: All of Grace (1:7c, 8a)

"... according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us."

*God is totally other-oriented, generous beyond measure. The lavishing of His favor is according to the riches of His grace. What an amazing difference between out of and according to! Were Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire, to give me a sum out of his wealth, it could range from a penny to almost all he has. But if he were to give according to his financial capabilities, I'd be an instant millionaire, at least. He would be parting with a sum in proportion to his store.
The spiritual application is mind-boggling. The infinitely-great Creator of all that is, the One Who spoke everything into existence, and sustains it all by His omnipotence, has seen fit in the giving of His Son to show His elect favor in salvation according to the riches of His grace! Who can fathom a proportion of infinite riches? Who can truly grasp such giving? And to then consider the recipients of such lavishing...!
Reminds me of II Samuel 9:7,8, where the crippled son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, is shown favor by King David. "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father, Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly," said the king. Mephibosheth, lame in both feet, with no claim on the king's favor, prostrates himself, and says, "What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?"
So says the Christian to the God of the universe... once spiritually dead, totally incapable of anything spiritually pleasing to Him, and yet is lavished with forgiveness according to the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus!
No wonder it's called amazing grace.

Ephesians: All of Grace (1:7b)

"...the forgiveness of our trespasses..."

*I recall a story I came across years ago, where a group of Christian men went camping. As they sat around the fire that night, the conversation turned to spiritual things. One posed, "What is the most beautiful word in the Bible?" One said, "grace", another, "love"... and another, "hope." There was some reflective silence, until one of the group whose past was filled with much rebellion and sin said with tear-filled eyes, "For me, the most precious word in all the Bible is 'forgiven.'
Though painful, it is a wondrous work that the Holy Spirit of God does when He reveals to someone his sin. Since our hearts are more deceitful than all else (Jeremiah17:9), and desperately sick, how else could we understand that we have transgressed God's standard of holiness, unless the Spirit reveals the truth?
When He does confront one with the enormity of his sin and the deserved consequences that will ensue, there is great grief and inner turmoil. It is the cry of Isaiah catching a glimpse of God's absolute holiness: "Woe is me, for I am ruined!" (Isaiah 6:5).
The more intense this awareness of sin, the deeper the relief and gratitude for the forgiveness given by the Lord Jesus. The greater the agreement with the Spirit that we have sinned, and sinned mightily, the more precious are verses such as: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, " (Romans 8:1), and "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (I John 1:9).
And the word "forgiven" is so cherished by the believer because of what it cost the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary.

Ephesians: All of grace (1:7a)

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace"

*I remember getting into the car with Mom, wondering where we were going, and being told that she had some stamps she wanted to use. In those pre-teen years I didn't know what a redemption store was, much less what S & H Green Stamps signified. It would be years before I understood that the stamp redemption store, and the ubiquitous pawn shop are the two best secular examples of the basic meaning of 'redemption.' The word means to buy back, to release from bondage, and, in the days of the Roman Empire when the book of Ephesians was written, redemption was illustrated in the process of buying a slave, and then giving him/her complete freedom.
The spiritual application is strong.
Praise to His Name, the Lord Jesus paid with His sinless life the ransom God required for the freeing of elect sinners from sin's bondage!
In contrast to the world's definition of freedom (doing what you want, when you want, and how you want to do it), genuine freedom is the ability to do what you ought. Only the blood-bought believer has this spiritual ability to do that which is pleasing to God (Hebrews 11:6). This freedom is our calling (Galatians 5:1), grace-given and irrevocable (Romans 11:29).
So let the redeemed of the LORD say so! (Psalm 107:2)

All of Grace: Eph. 1:6

"to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved"

*A dictionary definition of truism is succincted stated as 'an obvious truth'. And surely there are few, if any,more widely-accepted ones than this: God helps those who help themselves. It epitomizes the world's perspective. It so naturally fits and expresses humanity's common sensical stance on life in general, and religion in particular, that to question it one might as well go ahead and cast doubt on breathing as beneficial to life.

In stark contrast to this false assumption stands the biblical truth of salvation by grace. Diametrically opposed to the notion that somehow we can spiritually help ourselves, and thus deserve God's help, Scripture declares that the non-Christian is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1), and all his efforts to please God are worthless (Romans 3:10-12). The one who has been changed by the Lord Jesus, however, has been placed "in the Beloved," and is viewed by God with the same love as He has for His Son. Such love must be of grace, for it could never be earned nor deserved. Who could force the hand of almighty God to unwillingly love?

Ephesians: All of Grace (1:5)

"In love He predestined us..."

* In spiritual matters of an eternal nature, describing activities which occurred before we were born, as well as what will transpire after we are gone, the Bible is the Christian's objective source of revelation. And in all such matters, we have but two choices: revelation or speculation. Had God decided to conceal the truths we have in Scripture, we would be left to guess regarding His nature and character, His interaction with our world, and His will toward us. Praise to His Name for breathing out His Word by His blessed Spirit, revealing His heart of justice and mercy!
Of course, those who reject His revelation seem enamored with their speculations... one of which de-personalizes God as a cosmic Force. Only the Lord knows how widespread this erroneous perception has become, especially with the popularity of the Star Wars movies. A holiness-hating society embraces an impersonal Entity which (not who) has no Son, no cross, no resurrection, because man really has no sin (!). And, best of all, no judgment or hell. No wonder it's so popular!

But I serve no Force, but a loving Father! He (not it) predestined me to salvation, not out of brute sovereign power, but in love. In fact, it was "according to the kind intention of His will." I might have guessed that was the case, but how gracious He is to reveal this truth, sinking deep in my soul the security and spiritual safety that comes from embracing such love. Reminds me of that old saying, "the world didn't give it to me, and the world can't take it away." Praise, praise to His Name!