In Christ: Know It, Live It - 12 (Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!)

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace..." Ephesians 1:7

When I was a boy I remember my mom saving green and gold stamps that she received from grocery stores for her purchases. S&H Green Stamps and Gold Bond Stamps were that extra "perk" the stores hoped would bring in faithful, repeat customers. Are you old enough to remember them? I can see mom dutifully licking the stamps and putting them row by row into the savings books. Occasionally, when she had saved enough stamps, we'd make our way down to the "Redemption Center" where you could surrender your stamp-filled books to "redeem" the prize of your choice: a toaster, some glassware, or perhaps some cookware.

In this case, to "redeem" meant to "pay the price" of savings books of stamps to "purchase" the desired prize.

In Ephesians 1:7, "redemption" means "to pay a price to set the captive free." In NT times, the Roman Empire had a large population of slaves. The market where these slaves were sold was apparently a familiar place to Romans citizens. There a slave would be marketed and the "master" who desired to purchase the slave would pay the asking price to "redeem" him into his possession.

In CHRIST we have redemption. His very own life, taken away by unjust violence in the will of God, was the price paid to set us free from slavery to sin. The blood of Christ was the price for our freedom from sin's condemning penalty and controlling power. AND IT HAS BEEN PAID. We HAVE redemption through His blood.

WHAT a price! The life blood of the eternal Son of God/Son of Man. Did you happen to see THE PASSION of CHRIST movie? In spite of numerous non-biblical elements, it DID portray effectively the suffering of our Lord. Why did He suffer like a gutter-level criminal? "For Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a RANSOM for many" Mark 10:45. RANSOM is the technical name for the PAYMENT that redeems a slave. Christ's suffering was the suffering of the RANSOM payment for the sin of mankind.

Note:

• This payment could NOT have been more precious or costly. Any life is precious in the sight of God, especially human life, man made in the image of God. THIS human life was the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, who not only was man but was a PERFECT man. "He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth" 1 Peter 2:22. This was the Lamb of God without spot or blemish. And not only was He perfect, spotless man, He was the God/Man. There was DIVINE value to His life. In Acts 20:28 Paul speaks of "the church of God, which he obtained with HIS OWN BLOOD." Therefore, the value of this ransom payment was as infinite as the ONE who offered it up.
• This payment was FULL and FINAL. Just before Jesus breathed His last on the cross He uttered "It is finished!" John 19:30. This had the meaning of, "It is paid in full." With such a costly and infinitely valuable payment, even the debt of sin incurred by multiplied millions against the infinitely holy God was paid.
• A ransom payment was paid to free a slave FROM his present master to belong to another master. By Christ's blood we are freed from sin and Satan TO BELONG TO GOD. We are not our own masters. "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. TRUE FREEDOM is to be a love slave of the Father who has ransomed us at the price of His Son's blood. Slavery to God is pure and undiluted joy.

Do you ever wonder if God loves you, if He is aware of your situation, if He cares? Wonder no longer. Look to the cross, where the PRICE of your REDEMPTION was paid, the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST..."according to the riches of [the Father's] grace" Ephesians 1:7. If that objective, historical demonstration of love is not enough to assure you and I of the Father's undying love, then nothing will ever do so. LOOK TO THE CROSS!

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 11 (Destined to Be Family)

"In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will..." Ephesians 1:4,5

As we think about the glorious and spiritual blessings that God has blessed us with in Christ, we move on to PREDESTINATION. One of the most unfortunate battles that has raged in the church over the centuries surrounds this word (and the last...ELECTION!). Why? 

• A deep jealousy for the exaltation of man in his salvation. Because of the man-centeredness that sin brings to the human heart, man wants to retain some myth of control over his ultimate destiny. We do not naturally want God to be in control of our salvation any more than we want Him to be in control over our daily life. We would be lord, at any cost. But Jonah's cry is the heart of all biblical salvation theology: "Salvation belongs to the Lord" Jonah 2:9.
• A misunderstanding of what PREDESTINATION by God is all about. So often the mental images that come with the mention of predestination are things like: "It's not fair. If God predestined some for heaven just because He wanted to, then it means He predestined the rest of mankind to hell, just because He wanted to. Therefore, those not predestined have no choice. They are locked into unbelief and hell. Where is the fairness in that?" What this kind of "reasonable" and "rational" thinking does is to turn a doctrine Scripture intends to bring great glory to God into something that impugns His holiness. The Bible would have us see that ALL have sinned... willingly, rebelliously, and culpably (that is, with FULL responsibility for their sin) and therefore ALL justly and FAIRLY deserve hell. However, in rich and unfathomable mercy God has chosen some (and a very "large" some, at that) to be rescued from their deserved place in hell, by sheer grace, to a place in His family in heaven forever. He is infinitely JUST, so why not give all their just reward...hell? Because He is also infinitely MERCIFUL, and delights from the overflow of His nature to choose for some a destiny that is infinitely opposite to what they FAIRLY deserve.

Predestination means that God, in free, sovereign grace, has chosen a destiny for us believers, through His Son...the destiny of SONS. Predestine means to appoint ahead of time to a position. This position for us is to have the full inheritance and rights of natural born children, even though we were ADOPTED.

It is well attested that in the Roman world of Paul's day, when a man adopted a son he was LEGALLY giving that son the name, privileges, and possessions of a natural born son. An adopted son was not a 2nd class, back of the bus, bottom of the list child. He was being given EVERYTHING that belonged to His father. THIS is the destiny God has chosen for us...from eternity...to eternity. We are NOW the children of God (1 John 3:1) and enjoy the first tastes of all that is our Father's. But there is MORE to come. "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- 1 Corinthians 2:9. 

Brothers and sisters, we "are joint heirs with Christ" Romans 8:17. Him with whom we share this full-family status purchased it for us through His perfect life and redemptive suffering.

Think of this, as well. God did not hesitantly choose this destiny for us. It was His GOOD PLEASURE...He did it in love. "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." Luke 12:32

Therefore, let us BELIEVE this is our destiny. Let us see ourselves as the Father does, full fledged sons and daughters through the SON. Let us go to our Father with "boldness and...confidence" Ephesians 3:12. When we go to God with our needs, we are asking for what is ALREADY OURS. The Father was pleased to choose this destiny for us, the destiny of those who are joyfully given all the Father is and has.

And let us PRAISE Him. He predestined us to adoption..."to the PRAISE of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved" Ephesians 1:6

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 10 (Chosen to be Holy)

"Even as He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him." Ephesians 1:4

Look at what the Apostle Paul says God has chosen us in His sovereign, eternal grace to be: HOLY and BLAMELESS.

Note:

• Holy = moral purity. God IS Holy. God is innately and infinitely and eternally Holy. His is a native holiness, not a derived holiness. He has commanded that His people will be like Him: Leviticus 19:2: "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." He has chosen us to be pure in every way: thoughts, actions, attitudes.
• Blameless = freedom from guilt. A wonderful picture of this are the unblemished sacrifices of the OT. The animal to be offered could not be deformed in any way. Jesus was the final, blameless sacrifice. God has chosen us to stand before Him and for there to be nothing in us that would be blameworthy because we have fallen short of His glory.
• Now...has God chosen us for a PRESENT holiness and blamelessness, or for a FUTURE holiness and blamelessness? Probably BOTH, and more! We have been clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ NOW. We are holy and blameless before the Father as we are clothed in the merit of His Son. This is our STANDING (Romans 3:22). God is also working in us a PROGRESSIVE holiness and blamelessness day by day - taking us toward the goal of being conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 3:13). Then, we are headed towards a full and eternal HOLINESS and BLAMELESSNESS when Christ returns (1 John 3:2). This will be our actual standing, character, and walk in Heaven. God has CHOSEN us for this.

Now consider: if God has CHOSEN us to be holy and blameless before Him, He WILL make it happen. In fact, He IS making it happen! All that is happening in my life has AT LEAST this goal: to make me, shape me, into a holy person. The Father is orchestrating the entirety of our lives as a "holiness mold." And HE WILL NOT FAIL. NO ONE the Father has chosen will fail to stand before Him holy and blameless some day. The pain, the disappointments, the joys, the long seasons where perseverance is needed...all for holiness. Consider also that holiness leads to happiness. Therefore, while God is working to make you holy, He is also working to make you happy. Our Father WILL NOT be satisfied with anything less than holiness in our lives. HE WILL SUCCEED IN OUR LIVES. Therefore: let's cooperate with Him! Take the view, the TRUE view, that God is working in and through all that is happening to you to make you holy and happy. When the going is rough, bow before Him in humble worship and accept the loving work of His hand. Obey when you don't feel like it. Keep doing right when a nice piece of retribution would feel good. Turn to Him in the dry time instead of the fridge or the Internet or the mall.

The story is told of Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, that one day during practice he caught one of his players cheating during drills. He yelled out his name, and rebuked him on the spot, "If you'll cheat in practice, you'll cheat during a game. And if you'll cheat during a game, you'll cheat in life. AND I WON'T HAVE IT!"

Brothers and sisters, God has chosen us to be holy. He WON'T HAVE us being anything less. He IS making us holy. Count on it. Look for it. Cooperate with it. Thank Him for it.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 9 (Chosen Choosers)

"...Even as He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him." Ephesians 1:4

The wonderful biblical doctrine of ELECTION is taught so plainly in this verse. Election means that God has chosen some, by His mysterious and marvellous grace, from eternity past, to be redeemed from sin and destruction to Himself.

Here are some glorious elements in this CHOICE of God:

• God choses people to salvation IN CHRIST. Once again we see all that God has for His people comes to them IN CHRIST. Christ is the eternal Son who became also man...Christ lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father...Christ sacrificed Himself upon the cross, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God (1Peter 3:18)...Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, overcoming sin and death and hell ALL ON OUR BEHALF! Hallelujah! The Father could NOT choose anyone apart from His Son. However, in the Son, by the Son's merit, the Father chooses all that His love and grace delight and will to choose.
• This choice of the Father is BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. I.e. before creation, before matter and time and space, i.e. in ETERNITY. God's choice of us in Christ is an ETERNAL choice...a choice with no beginning (in time) and which can have no ending or expiration. Before Adam's sin, the Father chose us. Before His promise to bless the whole earth through Abraham's seed, the Father chose us. Before the eternal Son became also man, the Father chose us. Before we were born, before we exhibited a life of sin and rebellion, before we heard the gospel and responded...the Father chose us in Christ. What this means, of course, is that God's choice of us, His election, is based SOLEY UPON GOD's WILL and DELIGHT and LOVE and MERCY and GRACE and NOT upon anything we would be or do or think nor upon any association we would have with any person or family or church. God chose us because He chose us (see Deuteronomy 7:6-8 for the OT picture of this). The CAUSE of the choice is IN GOD, not in US. Again, HALLELUJAH! to our graciously choosing God. For had His choice been based on us, we would yet be lost and facing His eternal wrath and judgment.

Friends, we are God's because of FREE GRACE. God's choice of us is the CAUSE of our choice of Him. We are CHOSEN CHOOSERS. And that gives us NO ROOM to boast in ourselves. "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1Corinthians 1:31.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 8 (What Kind of Blessing Have You Been Blessed With?)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places." Ephesians 1:3

Have you ever thought about it...WHAT is a SPIRITUAL blessing? Consider:

• Spiritual blessings come to us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Father PLANNED our salvation, the Son ACCOMPLISHED our salvation, the Spirit APPLIES our salvation. That is, it is God the Holy Spirit who actually brings into our lives all that Jesus accomplished on our behalf. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, the perfect life, sufficient death, and victorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus would not reach us to save us and sanctify us. For instance: God saved us, "...through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:5. Consider also: "...but if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" Romans 8:13. Or, "...we...are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" 2 Corinthians 3:18. All the blessings of God purchased for us in Christ come to us through the Holy Spirit. Surely one thing this means is that we should seek not to grieve the Holy Spirit by pride and self-reliance and unbelief or loose use of our tongues (see Ephesians 4:29,30). We should instead depend moment by moment on the Spirit for wisdom and strength and love, joy, peace, patience, etc. We should "keep in step with the Spirit" Galatians 5:16. ONE MORE THOUGHT HERE: because these blessings come to us via the Spirit, they cannot fail to get to us or to get to us AS WE NEED them. Why? He is omniscient, omnipotent God!
• Consider also that SPIRITUAL blessings are not primarily MATERIAL. We are not Old Testament Israel, for whom the covenant with God included promises of healthy babies and plentiful food and much livestock and victory over physical enemies (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Do you expect that knowing God and being in Christ means things like a large salary, a roomy house, healthy children, and a large 401k? This is NOT to say that God cannot and does not bless us with STEWARDSHIP over these kinds of things...surely He does. But the point is they are not the PRIMARY FOCUS of His blessings. Rather, He blesses us first and foremost with THE KINGDOM...and at the center of the KINGDOM is the KING! God has given us Himself. He has saved us to KNOW Him (John 17:3; Ephesians 1:17). What a horrifying thought that I could spend my life seeking food and clothing and security in savings when God has given me Himself. It is something on an infinitesimally small scale like the child who sets aside the expensive present on Christmas Day to play with the box and wrapping paper. Jesus made it plain that our pursuit in life should be the Kingdom, and that IN seeking the Kingdom (and the King) all else that we need would be provided (Matthew 6:33). Besides, too much material stuff rarely does anyone good. We are so idol-prone that our hearts tend to forge a little extra money or stuff into a golden calf.

Let's PRAISE God for spiritual blessings (we'll be looking at those that are cataloged in Ephesians 1) that are unfailingly brought to us through the Holy Spirit. Let's depend on Him to supply all that Christ has purchased for us, as we need it, and as we seek the KING.

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 7 (What does it mean to be IN CHRIST?)

What does it mean to be "in Christ"? The Apostle uses that phrase around 15x in his Ephesians letter alone. It must be IMPORTANT!

To be "in Christ" means that by faith God has joined us to Christ in a real, organic, living union. It means that all that Christ is and that Christ has accomplished has become ours. What he has done is counted as done for us. The beautiful biblical picture of this is Jesus' allegory in John 15 of the Vine and the branches. HE is the Vine, the life giving source of all...WE are the branches, the dependent, life receiving extensions of His fruit-bearing. Apart from Him we can do nothing in the way of bearing fruit that has eternal character (John 15:5). All that God the Father has chosen from eternity to give to us comes to us IN CHRIST. It is always HIS MERIT, HIS WORTH that is counted ours that allows us to receive spiritual blessings.

A personal illustration of this:

• When I pastored in Texas years ago there was a man in our church who oversaw the finances for the sports program of a large, well-known university. He had many responsibilities in addition to his CPA-type work. But along with the responsibilities came some perks. And so, on a couple of occasions I accompanied him to sporting events: Division I basketball and football. One Saturday I went with my friend to a football game at the Houston Astrodome. We had no tickets...didn't need them. When we arrived at the Astrodome we did not go in the regular entrance...no...we went to a side door reserved for VIPs! We entered the door and proceeded down the hall to a special room...a room reserved for VIP guests to lounge and EAT FREE FOOD! I could get used to this really quickly! All around me were important looking people. Up and down the hallways walked young men at least 7 or 8' tall, weighing 400-500 lbs...well, actually they were college football players, and they LOOKED that way to me! No one asked me what I was doing there. No one asked me for an ID. They just treated me like I BELONGED there. Before long we went into the Dome where the game would be played. Where would our seats be? 50 yard line front row seats? Not today! We did not go into the stands. We walked right onto the field! We stood right on the sideline of the field, with the team, AS THE GAME WAS BEING PLAYED! Now, if you have never been to a major college football game and stood on the sideline of the field, you might not realize that IT IS A DANGEROUS place. 6'6"- 300 lb men running as fast as a small truck, chasing each other, trying to absolutely destroy the guy with the ball. Occasionally, the action would move towards our sideline position. When that happens, there is only one thing to do...RUN!
• Well, here's the point of all this: the VIP status that I enjoyed that fall Saturday in Houston was ALL BECAUSE OF WHO I WAS WITH. You might say I was IN my friend that day. We were like one (and you can be SURE I stayed close to him all the time!). I was treated like HE deserved to be treated. He had earned the position...I enjoyed the privilege.

And so it is with being "in Christ." The merit is His. The privileges are Ours...because we are united with Him by faith. And so is the Father's plan, that all His glorious riches will be ours in His Beloved (Ephesians 1:6 end).

Therefore, we MUST never forget the nature and reality of our union with Christ and we must give our all each day, moment by moment, to STAY CLOSE TO HIM, abiding in Him by faith, by immersion in His Word, by fellowship with other branches, by believing prayer, and by joyful, amazed worship.

Are YOU "in Christ"?

In Christ: Know It, Live It - 6 (Blessed, not Blasted!)

Ephesians begins with one long sentence in Greek, from verse 3 to verse 14. It is a pure burst of praise and blessing to God. When you look into the content of this blessing, you see why it is non-stop.

In chapter 1, v. 3, the Apostle Paul begins with this burst of blessing:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."

Note:

• There are 2 blessings here: Paul blesses GOD and God blesses US. Are they the same? No indeed! To bless God means to speak well of Him, to declare Him to be worthy of praise. Blessing God is recognizing and proclaiming His worthiness and greatness. However, when God blesses US, He does good to us, He benefits us, He gives us what we desperately need but do not deserve. Blessing God recognizes His eternal and infinite fullness. We can never benefit God by supplying a lack in Him. God blessing us is God supplying what we lack and need. God blessing us ALWAYS supplies a need in us. So...let us BLESS the BLESSING God for His gracious supply to us.
• Paul blesses God because He has blessed us. This is astounding. How so? God has BLESSED us when the Scriptures make it plain that God should have BLASTED us! We deserve judgment and wrath and eternal separation. Take a brief glance at 2:1-3 for our spiritual biography before Christ. I should live each day cringing at the expectation that the holy and almighty God has marked me out for wrath. But instead, I can live each day with the glorious expectation of BLESSING, favor, grace, intimacy, love. Amazing grace. What is your daily expectation from God?
• This blessing comes from God to us IN CHRIST. Tomorrow I'll share one of my favorite examples of how God's blessings come to us because we are IN CHRIST. For now, it is good to realize that the blessings are SECURE and eternal because they are in Christ. Why? Because His work was ABSOLUTELY COMPLETE (remember: "It is finished," the torn veil in the temple, and the RESURRECTION!). What security.