Ephesians 1 ~ Sealed!

Don't forget to visit my dear friend Jenilee and her thoughts on Ephesians 1!

Ephesians 1

What a totally different tone in this letter as compared to the Galatians. Here we see a group of believers "Getting it Right"! The letter's intention seems to be to help strengthen the church of Ephesus.

Just a side note that I find very cool is...Paul was writing this from prison. Instead of him having a "Whoa is me, I am in prison" attitude...he sets up office in the cell and keeps working. Wow! I want to be like that, all about the work of Christ and getting it done. Totally cool Paul, totally cool.

Chapter Breakdown:
1. Greeting (vs. 1-2)
2. Spiritual Blessings in Christ (vs. 3-14)
3. Thanksgiving and prayer (vs. 15-23)

I am going to be honest...I am totally exhausted so this one is gonna be short.
What God Wants To Show Me Today
I really was excited as I started reading chapter one. It has such a different tone than Galatians. God can be tough on His children and sometimes He is encouraging. I am already feeling the encouraging words already.

Paul tackles and age old debate in verses 3-14 regarding predestination. Regardless, of our stand points, I know this to be true...God created all of us to love Him and to be loved by Him. God does not create evil it is not His nature. God knows everything and I don't. So faith will step in when I don't understand the "how" stuff. My stance is that we are all chosen/predestined to serve and follow God. However, we can choose to say I don't want God and follow our sinful nature instead. God knows all yet gives us freedom to choose Him. I don't know how it works....but I know my God, who has it all figured out.

I love all the wonderful things God says to us in these verses....
He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (vs. 3)
He chose us (vs. 4)
He loved us to adopt us to sonship through Jesus, it was His will and pleasure (vs. 5)
He freely gives us Grace (vs. 6)
We are the "Ones He loves" (vs. 6)
He has taken care of our debt and freed us with Grace that he "Lavishes on us". (vs. 7-8)
He makes known His will to us according to his good pleasure. (vs. 8)

Thank you, Lord for all your blessings.

But here are the verses I really loved....

Galatians 1:13b - 14 NIV
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

I love how the New Living Translation says verse 14

14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.

When I decided to follow Christ, He put his seal on me. That seal says that I have been purchased. Christ paid the price for me...He used His own blood for currency. That seal is the powerful Holy Spirit that can not be removed.

Romans 8 :38-39 says....
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am sealed! Thank You, Jesus!