Ephesians 1:19-20

I got the power... I got the power.. For those of you that missed it, that was a reference to Snap's 1990 classic. And also to Ephesians 1.19-20. We are to know the power that we possess. And what power is that? This is grave conquering, death defeating, curse breaking resurrection power. And we are to know not only that we have it but that it is at work in us. It has been at work in us since the awakening of faith: we were dead. Ephesians 2.1. We needed something earthshakingly mighty to wake us up. We, like Jesus in the grave, could not live again lest God make it so. To know the reality of power at work in the past is to respond with awestruck wonder and thankfulness in the present. He said live and we lived. Ezekiel 16.6. But there is more: the power which first woke us from slumber when God called our names is still at work in us. We are still waking up. We are still being made alive to the reality of God's power at work in our hearts. We are to count ourselves daily more and more alive to Him. Romans 6:11. Am I doing this today? Am I fully awake to all the possibilities of God? Is my Spirit alive to his leading or still dead in parts? Are my ears pricked to the whisper of His voice? Wake up, sleepy-headed Nic. Know the power that you possess to live this life for Him.

Ephesians 1:18-19

Ephesians 1.18-19. I am currently sitting in Mcdonalds and the lyrics of the song playing say,' God knows we're worth it.' Admittedly the song is talking about a relationship between humans. Ephesians talks about how God feels about us instead. Paul's desire is for the deepest kind of knowledge. A knowing that floods every corner of the human soul. A brightening of darkness, a quickening of dullness. Illumination of our entire emotional and intellectual understanding. This is no academic assent to doctrinal truths. This is intimate revelation. We need to really really really know hope. We need to live it and breathe it and remember that God was the initiator. Not us. He called us into hope from hopelessness. And again, the most remarkable thing is that He wanted to call us. Not only do we have an inheritance, but we are someone's inheritance. Let that sink in. We are a treasured people, God's most precious possession. God has been waiting since the beginning of time for us to be his. Wow. To him, we are glorious riches. Christ so longed for us to be with him, that he scorned the cross' shame. Instead he considered the joy set before him. He considered us - his inheritance. God knows we're worth it. 

Ephesians 1:15-17

Ephesians 1.15-17. How dedicated am I to thanksgiving and prayer for those who I long to know everything that God has for them? Paul has not stopped saying thank you. He is continually astounded by the way in which God is at work, by the incredible reality of verses 13-14: Paul sees God's hand and he can't help but pour out his gratitude. As a rule, I am ungrateful. I miss what God is doing and even when I do see it, I don't say thank you. 

Paul remembers to pray. He knows that prayer is where it's at. It's the only thing that will make a difference and so he is unceasing in remembrance of his brothers and sisters. Oh for such love and such commitment, such determination for others to experience God's goodness that we would keep asking keep asking keep asking. And for what do we ask? We ask for the spirit. We ask for what is so far beyond us. We ask for a knowledge of God that withstands all opposition and doubt and suffering. We ask for unswerving confidence in the gloriously glorious father that will not be shaken.

Ephesians 1:13-14

13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His glory.
What does this mean? That I am in Christ? Who else could I be in? Where else, or what else, was I in before? I think part of Paul's answer is found in Romans 5. I mainly think this because of a sermon series by Andy Stanley where he talks about the distinction between being in Adam or in Christ. We're one or the other. We inherited the sinful condition of Adam and we're in him until something gets us out. We get put into Christ somehow. We become viewed as Christ somehow. When God looks at us he no longer sees a sinner; he sees someone who is holy and blameless. Somehow we are clothed, covered, coated over with Christ in such a way that it goes down deep. 

It's not tricking God. It's not like those terrible, fake glasses/moustache combination or a cheap masquerade; something actually happens where we get Jesus' life and he gets ours. This is Aslan's deep magic and I don't get it. I don't get what happens when someone hears the word and believes. An unspeakable transformation takes place in the instant of believing the good news: the excluded become the included; orphan becomes heir. 


But God wants us to be sure. God doesn't want us to question whether or not we're really in His son. He doesn't want his kids to be unsure of their place in the family. His precious Spirit is His way of making us sure. He is our deposit, down-payment, guarantee, pledge. His presence in our hearts is how we know that it's true. 

Even as I read these verses earlier I stuttered on the word 'truth.' Am I really sure? Am I really so uncompromising, so arrogant, as to be able to say that what I believe is universal truth? That Jesus is the truth; He is the truest thing that can ever be known. And yet and yet, I have his Spirit. I have a seal branded on my heart that leads me back to the truth even when it seems impossible to believe it. God has marked me out as His own and he promises to keep me from stumbling. He promises to keep me safe and secure until it's home time. He promises that His Spirit is enough: he is my guide, my reminder, my sustainer. And such a gift compels me to praise Him. 

Ephesians 1:11-12

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

I am normally pretty frightened by the concept of predestination and here Paul uses the word for the second time in just a handful of verses. I don't have a clear sense of what it means, but what strikes me here is not so much the choosing or the not choosing, the included or the excluded, not so much the picking but the purpose. To trust Jesus is to make God look good. To put our hope in Him regardless of circumstance or doubt or a difficult day is to give God glory. There is beautiful simplicity here: today we have the opportunity to show off how good our heavenly Dad is in a world that desperately needs fathering. Today, just by saying that He is where our hope is, heaven sings His praises just a little bit louder. Our limping faith is enough to cause angels to roar. 

Ephesians 1:7-10

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,  9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

There is so much treasure here. I love Paul's repetition: in Him, through Him. And don't you forget it. All this is only possible in and through Jesus. He is the one who has gained us immeasurable blessing and unlimited access to the Father. And it was fitting that he should do so. It was in perfect keeping with the character of the Godhead. It fit perfectly with God's beautifully lavish nature that He should choose the way of the cross. That He should choose such an extravagant and foolish was to display His love. God was fully aware of what He was doing when He planned our redemption. He knew the cost of our reconciliation and it pleased Him to make it happen. In Christ, what was unknowable and unattainable is now revealed and approachable. The glorious mystery is that He should want to be knowable to us. He should want us as friends and not servants. Angels shudder at that truth. For surely it is madness that the best way for God to show us what He's like and the only way for us to get back to Him is by a dead man on a cross...

Ephesians 1:1-6

Rejoicers, I am trying to learn Ephesians; a little ambitious I fear but someone recently told me that it was their favourite book and that it was full of deep and precious treasures. Anyone want to join me on the journey? Today is Ephesians 1:1-6.

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
much thrillingly beautiful truth already that the mind boggles. We have everything we need. God has withheld nothing from those who are in His Son. Not one blessing is held back from us. (v.3) More than that - God chose us not out of necessity or obligation but out of pure, wholehearted love. (v.4) It was a pleasure for him to bring us into his family. (v.5) He wanted to. He gives to us freely, open-handedly, longing to pour out grace and grace and grace because that is what He wills. That is the essence of who He is. We are those we are hidden in His Son. Those covered by the blood and washed blameless white. Hallelujah. Happy Tuesday.