Going Deeper - EphesiansSample

Paul writes this letter to the followers of Jesus in the city of Ephesus. He opens his letter to them with greetings and blessings of God’s grace and peace.

He goes on to encourage them that as followers of Jesus, each of them are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms thanks to their new life in Christ. Some of these blessings include his grace and kindness towards us which are displayed in the freedom that Christ won for us over sin and eternal death. Not only that, we also have access to all the wisdom and understanding that we would need for our day to day lives here on earth. The greatest gift though, is that of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s guarantee of the spiritual inheritance that awaits us in eternity.

The interesting thing that Paul mentions is that every believer of Jesus was chosen and predestined by God himself to be made holy and faultless before Him through the blood of Jesus. We now are adopted into God’s family with a purpose for our lives. Our personal choice to follow Jesus just helped us step into the perfect plan of God in order that our lives would bring praise and glory to God.

The Message translation of verses 11-12 states it beautifully.

11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

God knew you and had plans for you long before you were conceived in your mother’s womb. You were not a cosmic error or accident but a chosen vessel for God’s glory and grace to be displayed to others. It is all important that you ask Him to reveal to you, what you were created to accomplish on the earth and how you could begin to take steps forward to live out that purpose completely. You don’t have to worry if you have what it takes because like the Apostle Peter writes, His power gives us everything we need to live a godly life. That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in - the source of our power for every single thing that happens every single day.