1.2 - "accepted" is the Greek word "χαριτόω" or "charitoō"

Meaning “highly favored” or “full of grace” as with young Mary in Luke 1:28. Because of God's grace, every believer is ACCEPTED in Christ!

1.2.1 - The lady in the Harbor

In New York Harbor, there is a lady who stands tall. She holds a torch in her hand giving light. Inscribed on the pedestal upon which she stands are these famous words: "Give me you tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." We know her as Lady Liberty. She has a crown upon her head with seven spikes, signifying the seven continents of the world, and the seven seas that surround them. It's meant to send the message that no matter where you are in the world, you can come here and be accepted. You can come with all your problems, all your burdens, all your failures, all your mess...and you will be accepted here and can have a fresh new start. At the bottom of her feet lies a chain that is broken. This is meant to invite those who have been broken and bruised, who have been held hostage or imprisoned by life's circumstances. No matter where they are in the world, they can come and find a home; they can find freedom; they can find acceptance!

1.3 - JESUS was always and completely accepted by the Father. All His character, all of His words, all of His works were perfect and acceptable to God the Father

John 8:29 - "The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."

1.4 - And now, because you're "in Christ" (Eph 1:3), YOU too are perfectly accepted in the Beloved..just as Christ is!!

Tony Campolo tells the true story of a Jewish boy who suffered under the Nazis in World War II. The young boy was living in a Polish village when he and all the other Jews of the vicinity were rounded up by Nazi SS troops to be executed. This boy joined his neighbors, dug a shallow ditch for their grave, then faced the firing squad with his parents. Sprayed with machine-gun fire, bodies fell into the ditch and the Nazis covered the crumpled bodies with dirt. But none of the bullets hit the little boy. He was splattered with the blood of his parents and when they fell into the ditch, he pretended to be dead and fell on top of them. The grave was so shallow that the thin covering of dirt did not prevent air from getting through to him so that he could breathe. Several hours later, when darkness fell, he clawed his way out of the grave. With blood and dirt caked to his little body, he made his way to the nearest house and begged for help. Recognizing him as one of the Jewish boys marked for death, he was turned away at house after house as people feared getting into trouble with the Nazi troops. Then something inside seemed to guide him to say a phrase that was very strange for the Jewish boy to say. When the next family responded to his timid knocking in the still of the night, they heard him cry out, "Don't you recognize me? I am the Jesus that you say you love!" After a long pause, the woman who stood in the doorway swept him into her arms and kissed him. From that day on, the members of that family cared for that boy as though he was one of their own. He was forever accepted.

1.5 - Paul realized this amazing plan of GOD, highlighted and gave glory to the GRACE of God.

The fact that we are now, in Christ, CHOSEN..HOLY..ADOPTED all glorifies God's amazing GRACE. It is this GRACE which he has poured out on us, that has made us ACCEPTABLE in His sight..for all eternity..in Christ!

“God’s grace has extended to His people and has enfolded them.” - FF Bruce

“God's grace, is as if Christ took a diseased and dying leper, and completely transformed him into a healthy and lovely youth.” - Chrysostom

4 IDENTITY STATEMENTS

"I am...CHOSEN!"
"I am...HOLY!"
"I am...ADOPTED!"
"I am ...ACCEPTED!"

2.1 - Greek word "ἀπολύτρωσιν" or "apolytrōsin"

Meaning "to be purchased, to be bought, to be set free by your liberty being paid for."

2.2 - Historically, there were 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire, and often they were bought and sold like pieces of furniture. There were many ways in which a slave could be purchased from the slave market in the 1st century.

First, a slave could be purchased for a day and later returned.
Second, a slave could be be bought for an extended period of time, and brought back when no longer useful.
Thirdly, a slave could be purchased to be the permanent property of the owner, for the rest of his life.
Fourthly, a man could purchase a slave for the sole purpose of setting him free forever, by releasing him.

2.3 - This is exactly what Jesus did for us in REDEMPTION

He paid the high price for your sins, and has set you free forever! To buy us out of the "slave market" of sin, Jesus willingly, lovingly, sacrificially poured out His blood, and laid down His own life...to set us FREE! Jesus bought our freedom, literally, with the blood-money of the Cross!

"When the Bible says that you have been redeemed, it means that you have been absolutely freed, fully released, and totally delivered from all that had you bound in the past." - Roy Lessin

"What greater consolation could a believer have, than to know that in Christ all of their sins - past, present, and future - are forgiven forever by Christ's redemption?" - John MacArthur

"The cost of redemption cannot be overstated. The wonders of grace cannot be overemphasized. Christ took the hell He didn't deserve, so we could have the Heaven that we didn't deserve." - Randy Alcorn

2.4 - Before we came to Christ, we were in bondage and slavery to SIN, to SATAN, and the SYSTEM of this world - our old masters (Romans 6)

But then, along came Jesus, the Great Redeemer and Liberator of men's souls. He saw us, wanted us, loved us...and so He paid for us a GREAT price! The highest price that could be paid, the most precious and valuable thing the Man Jesus owned: His own blood!

Unable to Pay a $81 Billion Debt - Juan Zamora of Richland, Washington, owed a bill he could not pay for a charge he did not make. After filling up with gasoline and charging the $26 to his PayPal debit card, he arrived home to a message on his answering machine. The message, from PayPal, asked him to verify a gas purchase of $81,400,836,908 and notified him of a $90 dollar overdraft fee. Imagine that. Juan did not have over 81 billion dollars in his PayPal account to cover the charge. The debt we owe is our own, but we could not pay it any more than Juan Zamora could pay his $81 billion debt. Juan was eventually able to convince the company that, while gas prices may be extremely high, his Camaro would not hold $81 billion worth of gas. Spiritually, Jesus paid our unpayable sin-debt for us.

2.5 - This blessing and Identity of being REDEEMED is spoken of with great frequency in the Bible

Acts 20:28 - "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

Heb 9:12 - "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."

Rev 5:9,10 - "And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation..”

The Lost Dog Is Found - Chuck and Elicia James decided it was time for their daughter to have a dog; they named him Reckless. But Reckless got out and disappeared during Hurricane Sandy. The whole family was heartbroken. “It was like losing a family member,” commented Chuck. For their daughter’s 10th birthday, over a year and half after Sandy, they went to the Monmouth County, New Jersey SPCA to adopt. The first dog they saw looked familiar. Reckless recognized them immediately, and they were sure it was him when they saw the scar on his head. Finding the lost is reason to celebrate.

We belong to GOD and are owned by Him in a type of "Double Ownership" based upon two truths:
1. Creation of us
2. Redemption for us

Illustration: The Gingerbread Man...

5 IDENTITY STATEMENTS

"I am...CHOSEN!"
"I am...HOLY!"
"I am...ADOPTED!"

"I am...ACCEPTED!"
"I am...REDEEMED!"