Chosen of God, Ephesians 2: 1-10 10.13.12
"And you hath he quickened we were dead
trespasses and sins: wherin in time past ye
walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience: Ephesians 2:1-3
According to the Scripture, God’s Word, this fragment of vs. 1
applies to all who are born again. There is not one who is holy, righ-
teous, worthy or acceptable to the Lord on his own, in his own merit.
The message of Scripture is, the Lord God has been in the business
of seeking out, unworthy sinners and awarding us son-ship. This is
true in spite of the fact; man in his natural state, the state of every
man, without Christ, is unacceptable to God. Without Christ, man-
kind is dead in his spirit, unable to do anything about his sorry state.
In our natural condition we are all "children of wrath".
Ephesians 2: 3-b.
Therefore, if anyone who has ever lived is to be rightly related to God
the Father, it will be on God’s initiative. ("The Son of Man came to
seek and to save that which was lost.) Is it possible for the dead to
take initiative? We have been awarded, without a trace of qualifica-
tion, on our part, in vs. 6, the position of “sitting in heavenly places”
with the Lord Jesus Christ. At present, we are in Christ, remaining on
the earth in a body of flesh. In the mind of God we sit in heavenly pla-
ces, and it is just a matter of God’s time when we will be there in fact.
Everything has been given the Child of God because of God’s love
toward us which brings to bear His grace, (unmerited favor) mercy,
(disposition to forgive, spare, pity) and favor. (Kindness shown for
His reasons) God chooses to love, fogive, spare, pity and show kind-
ness to us according to His sovereign will. We are his creatures and
dare not ask why. Verses 7-10 show this did not happen to us because
of any effort or merit on our part; there is this statement “...lest any-
one should boast,” indicating there is nothing we could have done to
deserve such treatment and nothing of which we are aware keeping
God’s wrath from falling upon us as on others. Those who experience
God’s wrath are no more deserving of wrath than are we, who have
been delivered from wrath in Christ Jesus. He makes us worthy...
In verse 10 we he has a plan for our lives. The good works we, as
His children are to be about are planned and prepared ahead for us.
It is not up to us to initiate good works unless we are “abiding in Him”
He lives in us according to His sovereign will. We are tools or vessels
in the hands of all knowing, all powerful God who, in us, works to
do His good pleasure as we yield to his Holy Spirit and quit an agenda
of our own. Verses 11-13 show we were totally alien to God, but He
has made us to be near Himself through the blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ. From there it says, He has, in His flesh, broken down any bar-
rier that might separate us from the Almighty God and the enmity
causing the separation. This gives us peace with our God. Those that
were near, (Jews) and those that were afar off, (gentiles) have equal
access to the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross
by His Spirit.
The Church is not specifically mentioned in Eph. 2:19-22; the message
is that all of God’s children are brought together under one temple and
this must refers to His church. Chapter 3, validates the hint, beginning
with the mystery of the previous dispensation being revealed in a new
dispensation. This must be His church. The mystery was; gentiles
would be included in God’s economy on equal footing with Jews, with-
out restrictions of the ceremonial or ritual law of the Old Covenant.
This was due to the inability of the first covenant to cleanse anyone of
sin. All of this is true, that Christ may be all and in all. May all glory,
praise and honor be His. We, God's children, the eventual bride of
Christ, have no desire to deflect any glory from He who has done all
for us and has taken it upon Himself to purify and keep us unto the
day of the Lord. There is much to do, to perfect His church. Our Lord
who can do all things in us, has promised to do it.
"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Ephesians 2: 13
http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2015/01/god-is-sovereign.html
http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2012/10/where-is-my-citizenship-2-corinthians-5.html
donporter 10.13.12, ed. 2.15.15
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