Let Me Count the Ways

February 2, 2018

Let Me Count the Ways

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

Ephesians 1:13b

Read: Ephesians 1:11-14

As Paul affirmed God’s nature to make everything work out according to his plan (v.11), he drew his inspiration from the Exodus. The Israelites had been held in captivity and slavery in Egypt. As they struggled just to exist, they remembered that God had promised their forefather, Abraham, the land of Canaan. They cried out to God for deliverance and to receive their promised inheritance. God heard their cries and sent Moses to lead them to the Promised Land. God’s presence was with the Israelites as they journeyed and was experienced as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Against this backdrop, Paul affirms to the Gentiles in Ephesus that they are now God’s people through their faith in Christ Jesus. God has purchased them out of slavery to sin and death and has given them an inheritance. The Holy Spirit, God’s presence with them, is their guarantee that one day they will, in fact, receive their inheritance. Paul teaches us that our inheritance is the New Creation, our world totally redeemed by God. God’s promise is that all of his children will receive this inheritance.

My Takeaway: Paul says that God “did this so we would praise and glorify him” (Ephesians 1:14). God does so much in our lives, and every day is indeed a day of Thanksgiving for the Christian. Paul really primes our blessing pump in today’s passage: we are united with Christ; we have received an inheritance from God; he makes everything work out according to his plan; God saves you; when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit; he has purchased us to be his own people.

Heavenly Father, how do I praise and glorify you? Let me count the ways . . .

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2018 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.