Monday, September 12, 2022

 

Monday, September 12, 2022


Psalm 33

Habakkuk 1:1-11

Ephesians 1:1-14


In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.


The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction.


In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point).


First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first line of the entire Bible, that the earth was a formless void. Before then, even, did God plan on creating us in order to pour blessings and love upon us!


Obviously something got in the way between God making us and God fulfilling the entirety of His blessings upon us: our sin. We spurned what God did for us, and declared war against Him. But God wasn't done yet: Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity came and bore the punishment we deserved. “The forgiveness of our trespasses” maintained God's truthfulness and justice, all for the purpose of showing us His love. Nothing can now stand in between us and the smiling face of God.


Paul anticipates a pastoral concern. What if one feels like they are not one of God's chosen? What if these first two points don't seem to apply to me? Fortunately for us, God has given us a “seal”: a “proof of purchase”, a brand upon our soul to prove that God speaks the truth and that word of truth is love. The Holy Spirit, the third Person of God, dwells with us, and is God's “pledge” that, as human beings formed in God's image, we now share in the inheritance of the Lord Jesus. This is our relationship with God, as repaired by the work of Jesus: we are considered spotless and perfect because we are in Jesus, with the Holy Spirit standing by our side, in the loving embrace of our heavenly Father. Jesus shed His precious blood and now our sins are forgiven; this was always the plan: to bring us home.



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