Ephesians 1:3-6

Ephesians 1:3-6 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Today's scriptures cry out, IT IS FINISHED. (John 19:30) Before the foundation of the world, from time immemorial, God's heart birthed a plan to adopt us into his family THROUGH AND IN Jesus Christ. We are now and have always been seen through the Father's divine purpose to add us to his family through Christ our Savior, the third person of the Godhead. Through him all things were made (even new creatures); without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3) Jesus makes sons and daughters THROUGH HIS WORK, NOT OURS. When He said the work of salvation is finished, IT WAS FINISHED--complete and lacking nothing. In view of his total sacrifice, can we possibly believe that some other work outside of God's plan will please the Father? As a schoolmaster, the Law revealed our sins and the futility of our human efforts to please God. Man may intend to do good, but his efforts fail to bring perfection.

After Moses gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, he made them swear they would follow the Law. They said, we will do it, but they failed miserably. Eventually, God dealt harshly with them because of their continuous sinning. The Old Testament reveals clearly that man's efforts to please God fail because man in his humanness is a natural lawbreaker. Therefore, outside of Christ, sinful man remains under the wrath of God, for the ultimate consequence of breaking the law is death, separation from God. When we say, I must do something else to please God other than accepting his salvation plan, we function outside of the will of God. When we try to restore a covenant of law to please him, we literally say that it is not finished: Christ's work was not enough. The law always brings judgment, but faith IN CHRIST brings freedom and the righteousness that pleases God. Christ alone makes us as white as snow in God's eyes.

Are we less righteous if we slip or stray in our Christian walk or if our flesh briefly takes control of our domain? No, for Christ alone is our righteousness. In love he predestined (made, chose) us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. We are selected for adoption as children of God through THE DOOR, Jesus Christ. When adopting a child from a foreign country, one must go through certain doors to complete the adoption. Only one door provides access to God's family: Jesus Christ our Lord. Good works and a gracious attitude are not THE DOOR. Your hope of eternal life through manmade religions is not THE DOOR. Positive thinking, meditation, and any other substitute for faith are not THE DOOR. ONLY IN AND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WILL YOU ENTER INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD. Consequently, we who believe in Christ Jesus and his saving works are continually lifted up into heavenly places. We boldly sit at the right hand of God because Jesus sits there. We call the MAKER OF THE UNIVERSE, ABBA FATHER, for He is now our Father through the death and resurrection of Christ his Son.

Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us. As Adam, the first man, was finite, Christ, the second man, became finite for us, dying in our place. Jesus paid the price for sin in full, for nothing is worse than separation from God. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) Death is the final court document demanding the payment of blood. Jesus wrote his name on that document by shedding his blood. But God did not let his Holy One face the corruption of death; He raised him up by the power of the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will quicken your mortal body because Christ satisfied your death sentence. We who are IN CHRIST are resurrected with him into newness of life. Jesus said, you must be born again. IN HIM we are new creatures destined to live with God forever. Rather than resting in Christ and accepting his salvation plan, many continue to wallow in sin. Sometimes they are up, but they are often down, depending on their feelings and life experiences. God set us free from that life. IT IS FINISHED! He made us holy, complete, and perfect IN CHRIST JESUS. Therefore, fix your mind on that reality; set your hope and lifestyle on that irrefutable fact. The things of Earth will grow strangely dim, and you will abide in heavenly places through Christ the Lord of all.