1:5
he predestined – determined, planned in advance
to be – for the purpose
adopted – brought into His family
as his sons [viz., children] – Is there a distinction between us as adoptees versus Christ as His Son by nature?
through – agency, avenue of entrance into His family
Jesus Christ – the One whose very nature is God provides the means of our being adopted into the family of God
in accordance with – reflects back to “predestined,” His eternal plan. He intended all along that we who trust in Christ would become—be welcomed into—His family
pleasure – it pleased Him to do this
and – equal value
will – determination, desire, plan, intention
1:6
to – goal, what goes before—choosing & adopting—leads to this goal, results in the praise
the praise – speaking the greatness, supremacy, lifting up on high
of his … grace – unmerited favor that produces a godly life
… glorious … – shiny, having glory, beyond our comprehension
which – reflects back to grace
he has freely – without cost, but also without limit [NLT: poured out]
given – reemphasizes no cost
us – this is a group who have collectively received
in [NLT: who belong to] – finding refuge in Christ; under Christ’s ownership
the One he loves – in one sense He loves all; in another manner, He loves us
who are in Christ; in yet another aspect, He loves Christ. The latter goes beyond comprehension
1:7
In him – This is all “in Christ”
we have – present tense, possession, I possess
redemption – buy back from another
through – agency, means of obtaining our redemption
his blood – life is in the blood
the forgiveness – clarification of redemption; taking my offenses on Himself
of sins – rebellion against God; it’s not a matter of a list of things to avoid. Rather, it involves an attitude of self-sufficiency. When I admit that I cannot handle a situation on my own, I learn to depend on Christ. But when I try to handle it alone—whether I violate “the list” or not—I have rebelled against God, simply by depending on self instead of on God.
in accordance with – consistent with
the riches – immeasurable wealth
of God’s grace – see above
me with my beautiful, wonderful (bw)
Bibles Unbound
About Me
- Glenn
- Oregon
- Currently, I am posting my "musings on Ephesians." This was a 6 1/2 month process of allowing Paul's letter to Ephesus to speak to me about my situations. Some of it gets rather personal. But hopefully it can help you too.
3 comments:
Morning Cuz, In answer to your first question about the distinction between us being adoptees versus Christ as His Son by nature, takes me to a conversation I had with a young lady who we call our "adopted" daughter. Certainly Jesus Christ is securely the Son of God, but as an adoptee, I feel even more special because God chose me!! Our "adobted" daughter is just as special to us as our own birth children, and she has a very special place in our hearts! It helps me understand how God feels about me as His "adopted" child!!
Unmerited favor......... my prayer is to allow God to produce a godly life IN me! I also pray that the Holy Spirit quickens my mind to deny the self sufficiency that creeps into my daily tasks and makes me prideful of a "job well done!" It's only through His power that I am able to be used in every circumstance!
How could I live more abundantly free without His Lordship in my heart?!
Wow! a lot of things to ponder but good ones! salamat ng marami mahal ko! you fully dissected the Word. this really helps!
Re: a distiction between us as adoptees and Jesus Christ as God's Son by nature, Romans 8:17 tells us "...if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." I like the first part - all that is Christ's is mine too. The suffering part - none of us will ever experience the suffering that Christ went through for us, but it is expected that we WILL suffer.
The biggest difference between us as adopted children and Christ - we still struggle with the old nature (Romans 7) and we still sin. Christ alone is sinless. So God has provided his mercy and grace; we can confess and he is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9).
Of sins: I believe is actually more simple than the thought of self-sufficiency. It is pure selfishness - wanting my own way regardless of how it might affect other people. In other words, GREED. Until we let go of our fleshly desires, we will never be in total submission to His will for our lives. And we can only do that by His mercy and grace.
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