Walking the Talk - 17 February

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us. Eph 1:2-8a (ESV)

Predestined: there are many theological positions on the term “predestination”, so it’s important to know what it means as well as who has been predestined to what! Predestined, in the language of the New Testament, is proorzio. It’s two words combined that means “to limit in advance” or “to predetermine”.

Redemption: in Greek, it’s apolutrosis and refers to releasing someone/something upon payment of a ransom. According to this passage, the ransom was paid through Christ’s blood.

Let’s look at the text. What do you learn about we and us?

Where are our blessings?

What does the phrase according to connect?

Are you certain that these blessings are meant for you? If not, please email me – or talk to Stephen, Robert or Mark. We can show you the free gift that God has for you if you just place your faith in Jesus, repent of your sins and make Him the Lord and Savior of your life. Once you’ve done that, you can be assured that all the blessings of the Bible are yours!

Read those blessings again. How does God’s Word’s description of you compare to the way you normally see yourself? Ouch! Maybe we don’t walk the walk as well as we should because we don’t understand who we are in Christ Jesus!

Please continue to apply the 5Ws and an H to at least one verse every day as you continue the Read Through The Bible Challenge. It will strengthen your understanding of the Word and may give you unexpected blessings!

See you Monday.