| << | Contents | >> |
The Ephesian Connection
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention (lit., good pleasure) of His will.
It is God’s good pleasure to be involved in our lives and to bring us along in His purpose. He was pleased to call us in the beginning and He is pleased to prepare us as Christ’s Bride for the upcoming marriage supper of the Lamb. His purpose does not rest on our having to persuade Him to move on our behalf; it was His good pleasure to choose us in the first place. Before we knew Him, before we were even aware of His existence, while we were yet living in all manner of sin, our God was pleased to destine us to experience and enjoy full standing in His family. As a result, we have an inheritance. In fact, we are to participate in the inheritance promised to the First-born, the Lord Jesus Christ; we are joint heirs with Him (Romans 8:17).
As we consider the Father’s great love and commitment to His Son Jesus, we receive insight into His heart of love for us.
He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.
As Jesus ministered in Israel, He promised to reveal Himself to those who loved Him. In other words, only those who responded relationally to Him would recognize Him as Israel’s Messiah. But this idea of such exclusive disclosure brought great concern to one of His disciples.
Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
The general thought of the day was that when the Messiah was revealed, it would be to the whole world. Everyone would recognize Him as the King of the nations. Many Old Testament scriptures seemed to confirm this line of thought. But Jesus did not respond to Judas’ theology; He simply reiterated what He had just said.
If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make our abode with him.
Christ’s promise was that those who loved Him and treasured His word would experience God’s abiding presence. Again, here was a clear commitment from God to dwell with those who loved His Son. And He always takes His commitments seriously.
While our Lord does not need to be motivated to be committed to us, we do often need to be exhorted to rise up and follow Him in His work on earth. We can see this throughout Israel’s history. Repeatedly God sent His ambassadors, His prophets to stir His people to respond, to repent of idolatry or of apathy. But the problem was never that God needed to be motivated toward them, but always that they needed to turn toward Him.
And concerning His commitment to His house, the Scriptures are clear.
Zeal for Thy house will consume Me.
This statement describes more than Jesus’ priorities simply at the time of His earthly ministry. It also reveals God’s eternal perspective. Though it is true that Jesus’ zeal for the house of God brought Him into conflict with the religious leaders of His day, it is also true that the zeal of the Lord of Hosts motivated Him to come to earth in the first place. Then as He ministered among the Jewish people, His zeal consumed Him. This was but a reflection of God’s eternal purpose. Hundreds of years earlier, Isaiah had prophesied that a child would be born who would be called the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and the Everlasting Father. The government would rest upon His shoulders and would increase without end. Then Isaiah boldly prophesied.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Even though the price has been paid to establish the foundation of His house, God’s zeal for finishing His project has not diminished. Indeed, He will continue to pour out His grace until His whole purpose is fulfilled.
Some have thought that believers crying out to God in anointed intercessory prayer are trying to move Him to action. And though that may seem to be the case, the truth is that they are testimonies of His zeal. The burden they carry is the burden of the Lord. It is not the Church who authors intercessory prayer. Rather, it is birthed in heaven and revealed among us as He invites us to participate with Him in His purpose. And as we cry out, the voice of our Great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us can be heard in our prayers. Just as the Good Shepherd can be seen in part through those who pastor/shepherd His people in the Church, and just as Christ the Teacher can be seen in part through those who teach the Scriptures among us, so also our Great High Priest is revealed as believers respond to the Spirit of intercession. And the good news is that it is His good pleasure to be involved with us.
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention [good pleasure] of His will.
Indeed, God was pleased to choose us and to destine us beforehand to become placed/adopted as sons in His family. And nothing has changed. He continues to be pleased and zealously involved in our lives, as He brings us to the fulfillment of His plan.
His ongoing involvement with us demands a response. Our worship of Him should be – to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).
The fact that, despite all our stumbling and failures (past and present) God could still take pleasure in us indicates a glory to His grace that demands our attention. Those who to some degree see the magnitude of their sin will also similarly gain insight into the magnitude of God’s grace in loving them. When one considers his personal sin to be rather insignificant, he will also see God’s grace in the same way. But when one is awestruck by the horror of his sin and the holiness of God, he will agree with Isaiah.
Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Against the backdrop of such contrast (the extreme wickedness of sin and the extreme holiness of God), His grace shines with a glory that stuns the rational mind. And we are to offer Him our praise according to the glory of that grace.
His amazing favor is not small and insignificant. When we consider the expanse of the gulf that separated us from God – the greatness of our sin, and the purity of His holiness – we are overwhelmed. We had no means to reconcile with Him from our side of the chasm. There was only hopelessness and despair. Then we saw His hand reaching toward us, not clenched in anger, but open, seeking to hold us. And when we realized it was bloody and wounded, it dawned on us that His grace is far greater than we could imagine. It was not simply His offer to help us a little in our problems; it was His own presence revealed when He crossed the great gulf between us and took to Himself our wickedness. And the truth is, we simply cannot grasp with our finite minds the effect that action had on Him. But because He did take our sins, we no longer find guilt and condemnation when we stand in His presence. Having touched infinite love, we can never be the same. Thankfulness will characterize those who see these things. And their praise and worship, reflecting the magnitude of what has occurred will spring forth in a way befitting the glory of His grace.
If our worship is absent-minded or long-faced, lacking joy, perhaps we need to examine again the magnitude of what God has done. Only the ages to come will enable us to express fully our gratitude for this great salvation. Until then, let us grow in our thanksgiving, responding to the glory of His grace.
In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Search Comments
This page has been visited 0019 times.
| << | Contents | >> |
10 per page