Highest Prestige
Today’s Verse:
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. ~Ephesians 1:6
Ephesians 1:3 teaches us that we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The first three chapters of Ephesians encourages us about how rich we are in the riches of His grace. One of these spiritual blessings is the security of being accepted in the beloved. Let us see how this encourages us about who we are in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We see the privileged.
Accepted means highly favored, highly esteemed, or greatly privileged. We are privileged because we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and have received complete forgiveness of our sins. Picture with me a slave who has been purchased out of the slave market and brought into the household of his owner. The owner removes the status of a slave from this man and enables him to have the privileges of his riches. This slave goes from being destitute, worthless, and valueless to becoming someone who has attained the status of a child of the owner. Accepted, or privileged, means your status is just like an heir. Fathom the privilege that we have as being accepted and highly favored.
We see the power.
This status of being accepted is all because of God’s grace. Grace is God’s love which we do not deserve. It is unmerited on our part. It is the power of a love that will never let us go! First, we see the riches of His grace. His riches are inexhaustible. His riches are inestimable. His riches are incredible! Second, we see the saving in His grace. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ. Third, we see the glory of His grace. It is grace bestowed on us over and over. It is grace for the humble. It is grace that is abundant: He giveth more grace. The glory of His grace is the loving enablement that gives us this unmerited status of being accepted.
We see the people.
We are accepted in the beloved. The beloved are all the heirs of God’s grace. It is the wonderful family of God, of which every child of God is a member. Paul uses the word beloved, which means recipients of God’s special love. Our spiritual adoption is forever. God says, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” We are equal as beloved. We are essential as beloved. We are esteemed as beloved. We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. We were once not a people, but now are the people of God.
We see the praise.
Our acceptance in the beloved is to the praise of God. It is one of the many praises that we should be giving to God. Praising the Lord is how we give glory to God. It is acknowledging His love and goodness, which we do not deserve, every day. We are once-condemned slaves who have been bought with the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He has forgiven us of our sins, adopted us into His family, made us accepted in the beloved, and given us the purpose of living holy and without blame before Him in love. This morning, pour out your heart before the Lord in loving adoration and praise for making you accepted in the beloved. We are accepted in spite of being unworthy. We are accepted so that we are secure. We are accepted so that He will receive the praise and glory.
Have a praise-filled God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Psalms 80-85