Gods Child

(Eph 1:1-3 KJVR)  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:  2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 

These first three verses introduce Paul as the writer.  Paul then greets them much like we would write a letter today using Dear; John Doe.  In Paul’s time they were just more serious about their introductions.  We could learn a lot about personalizing our greetings to people from the letters Paul writes.  That is enough of the “soap box”.  Paul goes on to praise God for who He is and what He has done.  This is the beginning of the prayer that Paul prays for the Ephesians on a regular basis.

I must confess that I do not have a prayer that I pray on a regular basis for someone else.  Do you?  If you do please let me know.  We will get into that prayer now.

(Eph 1:4 KJVR)  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:  10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:  11 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:  12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.  13 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, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. 

In these verses Paul lays out the blessings that God has bestowed on the believers and asks God to continue to bless them in the same manner.  There are 9 blessings listed here that we have as believers in Christ.

1.  Vs. 4 God chose us to be believers.

2.  Vs. 5 He adopted us into His family through Jesus.

3.  Vs. 6 He bestowed His grace upon us.

4.  Vs. 7 He redeemed us.

5.  Vs. 8-9 He has given us wisdom and insight into His future plans.

6.  Vs.10 As believers, we will share in the universal reconciliation.

7.  Vs. 11 We have been made God’s treasure.

8.  Vs. 13 We have been granted the Holy Spirit.

9.  Vs. 14 We are assured of salvation which is our redemption.

What does all of this mean?  God chose us to be believers before we were born back in the beginning.  Because Jesus went to the cross, died, and rose again we can be adopted into God’s family if we choose to be.  We do that through faith in Jesus, in other words we believe that Jesus really is who He says He is and we believe this with our whole heart.  Because of our belief God gives us grace which is the forgiveness of our sins.  Before the cross we were separated from the presence of God due to sin (unrighteousness).  Upon our profession of faith in Jesus we are now redeemed back into a right standing with God.  Through God’s Word (the Bible) we are given wisdom and insight into God’s future plans.  We will be reunited with God and live with Him forever in the end of time as we know it.  God considers us His treasure.  He granted us the Holy Spirit to guide us in the path of righteousness and to reveal His Word to us.  The Holy Spirit is our helper.  Because of all of this we are assured of our salvation.  We will get into more about salvation and what is expected of us in a later post.  I want to ask you a question at this time.  Have you ever accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?  If not you can do so right now by simply confessing to God your sins, asking His forgiveness, and asking Him to come into your heart.  In other words repent and be baptized as commanded in Acts. 

Act 2:38-39  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 

A simple prayer of faith will work. 

Father, I know I am a sinner and I want to turn away from those sins right now.  You sent Jesus to die for my sins.  I accept Your plan of salvation and ask that You send the Holy Spirit to help me.  Thank You, Father, for loving me, accepting me, and forgiving me.  I want to spend eternity with You.

After you pray go to church and ask to be baptized.  The pastor can explain more or you can simply ask questions in the comment section of this post.  I promise to answer all questions.

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