Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Together in Christ #2

As often was the case in Paul's letters, He offered a word of praise for the Ephesian Church:
 3 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, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
As has often been noted, Paul thanks and praises God for all these spiritual blessings we have in Christ, in our relationship with God through Christ. We have a part in the plan of God, the right to be called the Children of God, as well as redemption and forgiveness from God. These all go together as a package deal. They all are given in Christ, in love, in the beloved - in Him. But also noteworthy is that they are given to us, plural, so we would be different than the world around us, and be a part of His plan to unite all things, to pull all the pieces together.  God's plan includes us, the members of His church, being connected to Him and to one another. It is one grand, yet detailed, meticulous masterpiece of a plan that involves our words, actions and relationships all woven together. We are part of something big where every small detail is important. 

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