Since the memory verses at church for the past month or two have been based in Ephesians 1, and because it came up in chapel this week, I feel the need to start there.
I don't know much about Paul, the author, much beyond Sunday school lessons (persecuting Christians, road to Damascas, became an amazing missionary...you know). But out of all of the new testament writers, for some reason, I feel the most affinity toward him, like maybe he and I would have gotten along pretty well. I don't know why so much, it's just a feeling. His writings intrigue me.
When I read through Ephesians 1 for the first time tonight, I had to keep stopping and starting all over the place in a desperate attempt to try to figure out where one thought ended and another began. Apparently the Greek language wasn't so big on punctuation. But there's a strange excitement that results from all the run-ons...as if Paul couldn't even control the words flowing to the page as he wrote.
Verse 3 starts out, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." So far I'm tracking with this - praise Him, got it. "...who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Every spiritual blessing - like salvation, spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit in our hearts, perhaps?
Okay, I've already got to stop and recap. Praise God who gives you good things through Jesus. Deep breath.
Verse 4: "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Here's our first look at grace. Clearly, we are not holy or blameless. God knew that. From the beginning. He still chose us. To really comprehend what that means is so very far above my head. I'm worthless but God chooses to provide me my worth.
Verse 5: "In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will..." Pleasure...I'm not sure I really caught that the first time or two through. It pleases God to adopt me. It gives him joy. Even though it was only through the death of Jesus that the Father received me as His daughter, it still gives Him pleasure? The Amplified translation says, "[actually picked us out for Himself as His own]" and I feel like every time I read this verse, I stick a question mark in there because it such a thought.
Verse 6: "...-to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." Ahh, grace. There it is again. And this time, it is emphasized how free it is.
Verses 7-8: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." I had to stop and remind myself what redemption really meant. Mirriam Webster comes in handy quite often for me. To redeem is to buy or win back, to free from consequences, to release from blame or debt...the only way we get any of that is through the blood of Jesus. Accept what Jesus did for you and you become redeemed. And not only do we get all of the beautiful benefits of being redeemed, but we also get to be lavished with the riches of God's grace. Lavished, as in given abundantly, exceedingly, immeasurably. And Paul let's us know that He did indeed know what he was doing.
I am just drowning in the depth of this verse right now. Praise God who gives you good things through Jesus. He chose to make you his child, which only He can do through the free gift of Jesus' life. It costs Him more than a lot to save us, but it still gives Him joy.
I honestly have to stop there. I keep reading this over and over trying to grasp just a little more. To me, it's still so unthinkable. So immeasurable. All these weeks in church, I just couldn't figure out why we kept reading the same verses over and over, or why they were selected for us in the first place. Now I know. This passage packs so much. If we can even get just a tiny piece out of this, we've gained so much.
Thank you Father for the mysteries of your love, the depth of your grace, the complexities of You. Thank you for adopting me through Your Son. I can't imagine trading one child's life for another, but that's what You did for me. You deserve all the praise that I could ever muster up. Your love is so far beyond what I can understand.
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