Ephesians 1:7

Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Here is a fabulous reason why I adore the Noah Websters 1828 Dictionary

REDEMP'TION, noun [Latin redemptio. See Redeem.]

1. Repurchase of captured goods or prisoners; the act of procuring the deliverance of persons or things from the possession and power of captors by the payment of an equivalent; ransom; release; as the redemption of prisoners taken in war; the redemption of a ship and cargo.

2. Deliverance from bondage, distress, or from liability to any evil or forfeiture, either by money, labor or other means.

3. Repurchase, as of lands alienated. Leviticus 25:24. Jeremiah 32:7.

4. The liberation of an estate from a mortgage; or the purchase of the right to re-enter upon it by paying the principal sum for which it was mortgaged with interest and cost; also, the right of redeeming and re-entering.

5. Repurchase of notes, bills or other evidence of debt by paying their value in specie to their holders.

6. In theology, the purchase of God's favor by the death and sufferings of Christ; the ransom or deliverance of sinners from the bondage of sin and the penalties of God's violated law by the atonement of Christ.

In whom we have redemption through his blood. Ephesians 1:7.

Meditate on that for a while and you are bound to recognize the value Christ has placed on your very soul. Which was forfeited to evil and in distress yet in Christ we have been delivered. Now that we have been delivered let us walk in the holiness that is available to us through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit upon our lives.

application

I will pray today for a fresh baptism of His Holy Spirit to empower me to walk worthy of the calling I have received, by His grace.

Ephesians 1:6

Ephesians 1:6

to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One He loves.  

Just as sin entered the world through the one man Adam and consequently affected us all, so also grace has entered the world through the Holy One Jesus, that has the potential to affect us all as well. The love of the Father is so great for His Son that it overflows to lavish us all who are found to be in Christ. So what does it mean to be “in Christ”? In spiritual terms it is a position we are freely given at the moment of our salvation called justification. It is done for us, with nothing we can do to add to or detract from as it is an exclusive work of God. In practical terms it is our responsibility to continually test ourselves to make sure we are indeed “in the faith” as Paul urges us in:

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

So the way to know that we are in Christ is for us to continually open our hearts to allow Christ to be in us.

application

I need to cultivate the Holy Spirit of Christ to abide in me today, beginning with my thoughts, my attitude, my motivations, and then my emotions, as I do this it will work out to control, temper and guide my words and then finally my deeds.

Ephesians 1:5

Ephesians 1:5

he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—NIV

Sonship is a very powerful position to hold in a family. With it comes many benifits and blessings and likewise there are expectations and responsibilities. the following is a list of such blessings and responsibilities.

Blessings	Responsibilities
inheritance	stewardship
access	reverence
security	to remain vigilant
a good future and a hope	staying in step
peaceful existence	being a peacemaker
being loved	loving the unlovable
patience	slowing down to another’s speed
knowing that He sees the best in me	expecting the best in others
receiving gifts	being generous
having wisdom	remaining sober minded for the sake of others
being called by His Name “Christian”	being careful to not tarnish the family name

application

To be mindful today of my responsibilities as a Son of the most High.

Ephesians 1:4

Ephesians 1:4

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

As the Lord washed the feet of the disciples he made it clear that in this world we would become sullied and have need to be cleansed. Also in this example it is the Lord himself who takes it upon himself to do the cleaning. Indeed we are the ones who are dirty and made the mess of ourselves but from God’s perspective we cannot make ourselves clean - that is His work that He does on our behalf.

Philippians 1:6

He who began the good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

I do need to do what I can to stay out of trouble but in the final analysis it is God who does the work of making us clean and acceptable.

application

I need to rest in the fact that my hope for heaven rests in the faithful hands of God and that my responsibility is to keep myself from jumping into sin, and to not walk in condemnation for it is God who has called me to make me holy.

Ephesians 1:3

Ephesians 1:3

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

Here Paul is taking us on a spiritual overview of what happens to us when we are indeed found “in Christ”. There are some awesome benefits to this position and here is a depiction of one that needs to be clearly understood to have its full work in us. Since we are united with Christ, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, to guide us to truth, to convict us of sin and to comfort us, He will also endow us with various spiritual gifts at certain appointed times as He deems necessary for us to accomplish His will. These spiritual gifts become tools to be used to build Christ into ourselves and also into the lives of those around us. However if we are unaware of these gifts or we do not exercise the use of these gifts we can become impotent in our usefulness for Christ. Just like a craftsman needs to practice his craft and the use of his tools to build something of value so we are to operate in the Spirit with our giftings to become more and more proficient over time. Eventually operating in our giftings we will find ourselves walking in the Spirit serving and ministering at every opportunity bearing fruit that remains.

application

I need to find new and clever ways to be a blessing to those around me. To assist in their needs, to pour out my time and energy and activity on their behalf. I need to do this keeping my spirit in tune to operate with the spiritual giftings The Lord has bestowed on me. By God’s grace I will exemplify a poured out life of service.

Ephesians 1:2

Ephesians 1:2

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a blessing to be in the number of people to receive grace and peace from the Father and the Lord Jesus. It is always God’s will to extend grace to empower us to accomplish his purposes and peace to continue to fight the good fight. Having peace is the same as being unified within oneself. Because a house divided will not stand. So as we have peace with God we are united with Him in our battle against the flesh, the world and the enemy. The grace He pours out is our preparation and fuel to step out and do things beyond the minimum that is expected of us and to exceed into the supernatural. To His glory.

application

I need to find new and clever ways to be a blessing to those around me. To assist in their needs, to pour out my time and energy and activity on their behalf. By God’s grace I will exemplify a poured out life of service. In due season opening the door for there to be peace with God.

Ephesians 1:1

Ephesians 1:1
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

Interpretation
It is by the will of God that we are appointed to the different positions we attain in life. Paul was selected by the will of God to operate and fulfill the role of an Apostle.

Noah Webster 1828
CHOSEN, participle passive
1. Selected from a number; picked out; taken in preference; elected; predestinated; designated to office.
2. Select; distinguished by preference; eminent.

Paul was distinguished by the preference of God. He was hand selected to perform a certain destiny that was ordained in advance by the will of the Father.  Likewise we all have a pre-ordained path arranged for us to walk in that is according to the will of God.

Ephesians 2:10 
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Therefore my mission is to persue Him and His will for the place He has ordained for me in this journey. To make peace with where He has me and to accept it as His ordination. He is the one who promotes, and places us in the position of His choosing.

Application
It is my ambition to seek the Lord for marching orders daily so that I find myself on His ordained path for me.