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The Light
Dr David Wood
THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL
Ephesians 1:6-10 (KJV)
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according
to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on
earth; even in him:
In this passage the
Scripture tells us starting in the sixth verse that we are to praise Him for the
“glory of his grace” which has already “made us accepted in the beloved”. The
beloved of course is Christ Jesus, our Saviour, our redeemer, the One who shed
His blood for us remitting sin forever. Well shout praise your name Lord
Jesus!
Matthew 12:18 (KJV)
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul
is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to
the Gentiles. (Isaiah 42:1)
This is God, the
Father, speaking from Heaven , first through the prophet Isaiah then as Jesus
comes out of the Jordan river (Matthew 3:17) telling us Jesus is “the beloved”,
but if you search the Scripture you will find that we are also beloved in Christ
Jesus. And of course Jesus has shown judgment to the Gentiles; we are now a
covenant people when we accept Jesus as Lord. (1 Peter 2:9-10) The judgment
was that if we would accept Jesus as Lord than we would enter into that covenant
which up to that time was for the Jew or the stranger within the gate. Now in
Christ Jesus we are no longer the stranger without the gate but the accepted
within the gate. Now I want to make something clear as I move on. Even though
the Jews have a covenant with God they are not walking in it and their access to
God is the same as that of the Gentiles. A blindness has come upon them for a
season, until the time of the Gentiles be full (Romans 11:25). To put it very
plain, a Jew actively practicing Judaism is lost and headed to hell. The road
to Heaven for all peoples is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 (KJV)
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
We will discuss this
in much more detail in months to come. Now, let us look at the phrase, “the
glory of his grace”. The glory of God is the goodness of God. This can be
manifested many ways and I will summarize here, but even that will bring joy to
your heart and cause your spirit man to jump for joy! The glory of God can be
the manifest presence of God. For example in the wilderness the Holy Spirit was
a cloud by day and a fire by night. On the day of Pentecost He was as tongues
of fire and a sound as many rushing winds. You may have been in a Church where
the presence of God was manifest by a haze in the room. The glory of God can
also be a manifestation of His goodness when someone is healed, set free of
bondage, their family comes out of Satan’s grip, or financial harvest comes and
the list could go on. The third aspect of the glory is honor, riches and
power. This is a topic for another time but just remember if we do not have
honor or riches or power in the earth than neither does God. God works through
men (and women).
This brings us to the
word grace. The Lord has been revealing to me that grace is manifold in
manifestation. It is not just related to salvation. (Ephesians 2:8) In fact,
the verse cited tells us that salvation is a gift of God; well God has given us
many gifts. Just think of all the things that are free in the Kingdom of God.
In the creation mankind was given dominion, he was blessed, he was given the
ability to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish the earth and to subdue the
earth. All of this was given him (men and women) not to mention the garden,
Eden and the riches of the whole earth. What a deal! We have no less in Christ
Jesus. We can earn nothing from God. It is all by grace. Peter tells us to be
good stewards of this manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). We find in
Zechariah that the source of grace, you might even say that grace itself is a
person, the third person of the Godhead.
Zechariah 12:10 (KJV)
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall
look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one
mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as
one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Hebrews 10:29 (KJV)
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood
of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done
despite unto the Spirit of grace?
In Hebrews 10:29 the
English Standard Version of the Bible says that to “profane the blood of the
covenant”… “has outraged the Spirit of grace”. The Holy Spirit makes us
accepted in the Beloved by making us a new creature, a new creation, praise His
name!
So let us say as did
Paul in his letter to the Ephesians that we will praise God continually for all
of His goodness, all of His grace that is ours in the beloved. If you are not
in the beloved do not go another minute. Know that every minute you are out of
the protection of God you are in the world of Satan and he comes but to steal,
kill and destroy (John 10:10). Just say right now, I confess you Jesus as Lord
and I believe in my heart that God the Father has raised you from the dead.
According to your Word those that call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,
I have called and I am saved in Jesus name, Amen. Now find a good Bible
believing Church and become a part of it and take your place in the Beloved.
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