3 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. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:3-14
I hope you read that......all of it. Perhaps you could read it out loud and let it really sink in. The reason I want you to read these verses with special attention to the characters mentioned. There is God, the Father. Then Jesus, our Lord. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is mentioned. Then last, we are mentioned as "we" and "us" and "our." As you read the verses again, notice the mention of each character.
There are numerous directions we could go in reading the richness of these verses. I have asked you to read them to answer the question, "Who's in charge?"
When I read it several times today, I was refreshed by the promises of who we are in Christ. I like the plans God has made and brought to reality for his people. I love that promise of being included in Christ through the truth of the gospel.
The greatest blessing for me in reading this section of scripture is the comforting assurance in knowing my God is in charge. We need to learn that....and live it! When God is in charge, we have the greatest care from our Father who watches over us. Let's let Him be in charge.
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