Handfuls of Purpose

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:12-13)

Much is said in popular religious circles about the need for a person to do certain things to attain unto the benefits of eternal life. There is a problem with that: unless the work of eternal life has already been done, no one is able to do the things that need to be done. In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul clearly stated, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12). Given this condition, how is one to find the way to attain unto the benefits of eternal life? It is impossible! We cannot place ourselves in the proper position to desire these things, much less to be able to have them benefit us. It is God who qualifies a poor sinner to rejoice in the benefits of eternal life. Without His actions, not one who has been born of the Spirit of God can ever get past the point of feeling himself to be condemned as a hopeless sinner before God, unrighteous and undone. The person in that state cannot feel himself meet (enabled and qualified) to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. A partaker is at liberty to take part. What exactly is the inheritance of the saints in light? It is something that the saints – heirs of promise – have inherited. In the case of what Paul is writing to the church at Colosse, he is placing them on even ground with all the saints of the church of Jesus Christ who have inherited gospel blessings. That ground is not achieved thorugh natural inheritance, but rather through spiritual inheritance. The saints in light are those dear people of God – both Jew and Greek – who have been enlightened to the truth of what God has done for them and who desire and seek to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

We have been delivered from the power of darkness. To the best of my knowledge, to deliver something requires its being taken on by one who has the means and power to get it from its point of origin to its designated destination. When God delivered Israel, the entirety of the work was undertaken and accomplished by the power of His strength, “And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 18:9). God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. When one of God’s children first sees himself to be a sinner who has been delivered by the power of God, the darkness of his confusion is gone; there is a great light of joy that shines in his heart. The evidence of the new creature is there because he has been translated into the kingdom of the Father’s dear Son. Whenever I hear the word translated I immediately think of old Brother Enoch, that “before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Why was it necessary for Enoch to be translated? Because God was going to take him, that he should not see death. Enoch’s translation was from an earthly bodily state – where he was before he was not - to a heavenly state. I don’t know much past that, but I know he had to be translated to be able to enter into the perfect presence of God. So does every child of God who can partake of the inheritance of the saints in light. Ours is not a bodily translation, it is a spiritual translation. We are delivered from the power of darkness and translated to be able to partake of the spiritual joys of Christ’s Kingdom. Here is a natural example of translation. Have you ever seen something printed, or heard words spoken, in the Russian language? Some languages are approximately close enough to our English language that we can at least partially follow what is being written or said. Not so with Russian. Most people cannot benefit in any way from what they could read or hear unless that language is translated into our native language. The native language of the kingdom of Christ is a spiritual language, and God has been kind and gracious to translate – not the spiritual to the natural – but the natural to the spiritual. And so we are able to rejoice with the saints here on earth, partaking of the sweet spiritual benefits of the light of Christ’s Kingdom.

Today is a good day to give thanks unto the Father for this great privilege.

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (Colossians 1:9-11)

Do you have specific desires for the spiritual well-being of God’s people? Or have you ever given it much thought? In the workplace, there is often a mindset with some people that they will not share what they know – even when it could make the group they work with much more productive – because they take some pride in what they know that the others do not know. I am giving first hand witness to this. I deal with it all the time. Whether the non-sharing people want to have some competitive advantage in employment or not, I do not know. I just know it’s true. While that may be a very real and even expected attitude in the temporal world, it ought never to be the attitude that God’s people hold concerning spiritual matters. Paul’s desire for God’s people was that they might grow and be strengthened in spiritual understanding. Was this merely a desire that they become well founded in the precepts of doctrine? No. That is important, but their being well founded in doctrinal precepts was not Paul’s greatest desire for them. He desired that they might be well founded and “filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Paul knew that their being founded in what we today would call doctrinal issues would be of no use if there was not a “first layer” of wisdom and spiritual understanding. How can God’s people be strong in understanding the doctrines of grace? Will it be because they simply think rationally and come to the conclusion that these doctrines are the best – truly the only – ones that will sustain them in times of trouble and persecution? No. The sweetness and best effect of these doctrines in the lives of God’s people can only come when they are “filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” When this filling has the desired effect, God’s people will be able to hear and learn to love the doctrines of God’s grace.

Our walk – sometimes called our manner of conversation in God’s word – becomes truly fruitful when we have the wisdom and spiritual understanding to know what God has done for us. When we have that first layer to build on we can “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” The spiritual outgrowth of this increase ought to be that we desire that God’s people might also come to realize His great love wherewith He has loved us. The promise Paul shows in this spiritual progression is that we will be strengthened unto “unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” With this strengthening, the desire to “convince” others how wrong they are and how right we are will be replaced with patience and longsuffering. With this strengthening, the tendency to feel self-satisfied and ask why others just can’t see what we see will be replaced with joyfulness when the tears fall from others’ eyes who finally do see what God has done for them.

Today is a good day to ask our Lord to stir up the desire in us that others might be able to find rest in and rejoice in the sweet doctrines of grace.

“We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:” Colossians 1:3-6

Due to some genetic tendencies in my family, I often think about the possibility that I may be unable to see at some point in my lifetime. That speculation sometimes leads to wondering: given a choice, would I rather be unable to see or unable to hear? As pointless as that line of thinking may be, I sometimes weigh the values of each of these wonderful senses. I love to read, especially my Bible, so the possibility of never being able to do that again is a very discouraging thought. But the thought of losing my hearing is even more discouraging. Never being able again to hear a good gospel message preached, or to hear the sweet singing of the songs raised by the saints in public worship – that causes my heart to feel pain just to think of the loss! Of course, I’m talking about the natural sense of hearing; but when Paul speaks of what he has heard about the saints in Colosse, and of what they have heard from those who had come to them preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, he is not just referring to the sense of hearing naturally. The discussion of this hearing centers on spiritual things, and it is truly impossible to hear such things without having “spiritual ears.” When Paul says “we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus,” he is not just stating what some disciple may have come to him and reported. This kind of hearing requires that the heart acknowledges what the ears have heard. There was a spiritual reaction to the news that there were people at Colosse whose faith was being reported. How can you report the existence of faith in another human being? Did they merely say they had faith, or was there evidence of faith that could be clearly witnessed and reported on? I believe that we would not be able to read this in God’s word if mere words were taken as proof. There was surely fruit being produced – the fruit of the Spirit – in these Colossian believers. One evidence of that fruit is found in the words “and of the love which ye have to all the saints.” Paul rejoiced – gave thanks and prayed for them – because the report of their faith found a witness in his faith. This is the wonder of this gift of God: faith responds to faith according to spiritual evidence because true faith is a fruit of the Spirit working in the child of God. The hearing of such good news is based on spiritual common ground.

In the letters to the seven Churches of Asia found in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Lord said seven times, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Paul knew that the saints at Colosse had ears to hear. There was evidence of that. Hidden in his words about what he knew they had heard is a spiritual gem of the manifest grace of God in the salvation of His people: what they heard preached to them about “the hope which is laid up for you in heaven,” was not the source of their gaining eternal life; it was a confirmation of that life that they already possessed. Naturally dead men don’t hear. Neither do spiritually dead men hear. The fact that they heard the gospel and that the hearing of it encouraged their hearts to the specifics of what had already been done for them was evidenced by the spiritual fruit they bore. Whatever their understanding may have been before they heard the word of truth, their understanding after they heard it was an added strength to them and helped them bring forth specific fruits that assured their hearts of the love placed there by God. The gospel did not bring them life, but it brought them knowledge of life that already existed. It was that life empowered by knowledge of the truth that “bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:”

Today is a good day to have our hearing checked. Do you rejoice in good news? It is truly a blessing to hear evidence that God is still working in His people, is it not?

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Colossians 1:1-2

The communication of fellowship in a good thing is a wonderful blessing, whatever the setting. But the sweetest and most profitable communication possible is between brethren in Christ Jesus, and that is the basis of Paul the Apostle’s letter to the church at Colosse. He first establishes his fellowship with the Lord, as an apostle of Jesus Christ; then he shows the brotherly fellowship he has with Timothy, his fellow workman; finally, Paul addresses the fellowship he and Timothy have with the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colosse. On a fundamental basis, Paul’s relationship with the Lord was the same as every other elect child of God: he was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, he was redeemed by the blood of Christ the Lamb, and the anchor of his soul was made sure in Christ’s resurrection from the dead and the hope of the resurrection of all the saints of God. The common salvation of all the saints notwithstanding, Paul is clear to state that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ. As such, he had distinct authority to speak the things of God and to communicate the mysteries of Christ to God’s people. The saints and faithful brethren could not share any communion with Paul on the basis of apostolic authority. Instead, the communion of the fellowship was that the things the apostle spoke with great authority were confirmed in them by the one Communicator of fellowship, the Holy Spirit of Christ. In one of John the Apostle’s letters, he stated the basis of all fellowship one believer in Christ has with another, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (I John 1:3-4). Paul’s confidence was in the fellowship that he, Timothy, and the brethren at Colosse had with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. It is important for brethren to understand the fundamental basis of their fellowship in order to enjoy the further exercises of communication together in good things. Now here is an area in which we need further understanding: the fundamental basis of fellowship is not just that the two parties communicating believe in Christ, or even that they agree on fundamental points of doctrine. John’s writing referenced above was stating that he wrote to the brethren that they might have fellowship in the things that John and the others who walked with Christ had seen, heard, and experienced. The people to whom he wrote could not experience those things physically as did John and the others. The saints at Colosse were not with Paul on the road to Damascus, nor when he went into the deserts of Arabia to receive the direct revelation of gospel truths by Jesus Christ. Fundamentally, fellowship between brethren in Christ has nothing to do with common experiences of the senses. The only reason we can have fellowship with one another is because we have been born of the Spirit of God, and He has placed His love in our hearts. That love establishes our kinship, and kindred in Christ can then desire and enjoy the fellowship of their brethren.

Physical kinship or common experiences may not by themselves grant the communication of fellowship in Christ, but God has blessed us to enjoy the assembling of ourselves together in meeting to worship. The psalmist said, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore” (Psalm 133:1-3). What unity is the writer speaking of? Tribal unity? national unity? Family unity? Unity of doctrinal belief? Unity of common practices? Those things are important; but I state again, they will not alone provide communication of the true basis of our fellowship: the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of Christ. Without that, the other aspects of unity cannot truly unify us at all! It is the communication of the love of Christ by the Spirit in the hearts of God’s people that will allow us to enjoy the commonalities of kinship, doctrine, or practices; without it, they are become as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. With it, the fellowship of the brethren is good and pleasant as we dwell together. Paul desired that the brethren at Colosse would experience such fellowship and he desired to convey its basis to them. The precious ointment of spiritual fellowship gave Aaron the blessing as his brother Moses poured it upon his head at the first dedication of the Tabernacle; as that applied ointment ran down upon his beard and went down to the skirts of his garment, surely Aaron rejoiced in a spiritual understanding that his fellowship with Moses was with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

May we each one realize today that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty – in fellowship and love with Jesus Christ.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:26-27

On the sixth day of Creation, God completed His work in a final act of grace and glory. He had created the heavens and the earth, populating them with heavenly bodies and earthly living things. The sun, moon, and stars shone in all their illuminating glory, and the earth was fully capable of thriving and continuing on the path its Creator had established for it. He had spoken all things into existence by the power of His word, simply stating, “Let there be…” and that which He commanded came together in perfect alignment with His purpose and will. He commanded, “Let the earth bring forth…” and it responded perfectly and exactly to His powerful word. Yet, in the final act of His glorious Creation, God did not issue commandments to the elements that would form man. He did not speak man into existence as He had every other animate and inanimate part of His Creation; rather, God spake with Himself: “Let us make man.” The evidence of perfect agreement between the Triune Godhead is abundant in Creation. The Genesis account tells us first, “In the beginning God created.” From that we can be assured of the Father’s Presence. We can also be assured that the Holy Spirit of God was there, because He “moved upon the face of the deep,” that God had spoken into existence out of nothing. We can also be assured of the Presence of Christ, the eternal Son of God, at Creation. The Apostle John tells us in his Gospel, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” Here, the three-in-one God worked in perfect agreement with the counsel of His own will in Creating the heavens and the earth; but the clearest evidence of His perfect will is found in man’s creation.

When God took counsel with Himself and said, “Let us make man,” He was not merely adding another living being to His long list of creatures. This last element of Creation was different. He bore the image of His Creator. Now we might rightfully argue that all Creation bears the mark of its Creator, but man did not just bear the mark of God; he was formed to bear the very image of God. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” God counseled with Himself. Before we venture off into speculation that we can know what God looks like physically, let’s try to understand what this really means. Man’s physical image is a refection – and merely one reflection – of God’s nature. He made man upright. No matter what the evolutionist may want to believe about man crawling around on all fours, he was created to stand erect and walk on two legs. This reflects his God-given position in Creation of dominion over every other living thing. We know this is true, because God brought the other living things to the man for him to give them names. Let’s set the physical image aside, however, to fully understand man in God’s image. God’s great love and careful attention was evident in this last act of Creation, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). He formed man’s physical being using the lowliest elements of the earth – the dust. Glory in that if you can. It is what God did to give man life that reflects His image. He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Only man – the final part of God’s Creation – was given a soul. And it was a “living” soul as first given to Adam. By this one act, God opened the way for a lowly creature formed from the dust of the earth to know its Creator, and to have communion with Him! We shall explore the wondrous glory – and the limits – of this precious truth in days to come.

Today is a good day to praise the wondrous works of our Creator God.

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;” Ephesians 1:15-16.

One of the greatest joys of life is to see people succeed in good things — especially people you love. This is even more true concerning spiritual matters. What a joy it is to find others of like faith and practice with whom you can share the riches of God’s spiritual blessings! That is what Paul is describing here. He is rejoicing in the “success” of the saints at Ephesus, a measure of success that was not based on their own merit or hard work; instead, he was rejoicing that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ had revealed the riches of His grace to these people now dear to Paul. Not only had they “also trusted” in Christ, (vs. 13, “…In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation”), but that trusting was evidence of the life and immortality that God had worked in them by His grace. Their trusting and giving further evidences of the new birth was not to gain life, but to show light. Paul spoke in another epistle concerning God’s work in Christ, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (II Timothy 1:9-10). The spiritual fruits that these dear people now showed revealed that they had truly heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation – not with natural ears but with spiritual ears given to them by God. There was good evidence of their succeeding to leave off the pursuits of their inborn fleshly nature to follow the pursuits now made alive to them in their heaven born spiritual nature.

“Wherefore I also,” Paul says, “after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you.” Good news spreads fast. Have you ever noticed though that when we hear some news that appears to be good, we have a tendency to be somewhat reserved in our full acceptance of the news as true? We could logically assume that it might have been hard for Paul to believe that a group of Gentiles, whom he knew to have been idol worshipers and probably to have practiced the grossest forms of immorality, to have turned from those things to follow Christ. Yet Paul says he gave thanks for them after he heard. He did not ask for further proof, nor require some fruit to be shown to him personally; Paul recognized the marks of the new creature in these people! Ponder this for a moment. Have you ever heard another person tell of their experience in being shown the riches of Christ’s grace, mercy, and love and realized that their experience was like your own? What a thrill! What joy arises in our hearts to hear such a confirmation that someone else has “seen” the blessings we’ve seen and felt the love of God in such a similar fashion as we felt that love. This is the essence of being brethren — kindred — in Christ. Paul knew by the reports he was receiving about their, “faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,” that God had brought these former idol worshipers out of darkness and into His marvelous light – the light of Christ. What thankfulness of heart this evoked in Paul, saying, “[I] Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.” He was thanking God for the blessing of seeing His little ones brought to the place where they could see with others the manifest work of grace that God does in the heart of those He loves. It is good to see people succeed in this way, is it not?

Today is a good day to thank God for the faith and love of His people and to faithfully pray for their continued “success” in spiritual matters.

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:11-14

When the Children of Israel finally entered the Promised Land — Canaan — each tribe that came into the land was alloted a part of the land as an inheritance. That inheritance was a natural realization of the promise God had made to Abraham hundreds of years earlier that his seed would inherit Canaan. Joshua actually cast lots to assign the various parts of the land to each tribe and to families within each tribe. There had been a general promise made to Abraham that constituted the promise of what the Children of Israel would inherit, but the casting of lots made the actual possession of the promised inheritance something real and specific to those who were of the natural seed of Abraham. Their coming into (receiving) that natural inheritance fulfilled the natural promises God made to Abraham. The descendants of Abraham’s son, Isaac (the son of promise), and of his son, Jacob, realized the natural benefits of God making good on His promise to Abraham. Once that happened, they fell under the requirements of a righteous and just God to continue enjoying the benefits of their inheritance. God spoke through Moses, in Deuteronomy 32:46-47, “And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.” Their enjoyment of the benefits of their inheritance was based on their observing to do all the words God had commanded them. Their failure to do so meant that they would lose the use and enjoyment of their inheritance.

The natural land of Canaan was a figure of the spiritual land of Canaan, the ultimate realization of the promise God made to Abraham: “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him” (Genesis 12:7). When “Abraham’s seed” is mentioned in Scripture, it refers primarily to Christ, who would be born of the line of Isaac and Jacob, and of the Tribe of Judah. Not necessarily everyone who came into the land of Canaan and received a natural inheritance were included in that seed, but all who were Christ’s were included in the spiritual inheritance that Paul is speaking of here, as he clarified in Galatians 3:29, “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” It is in Christ that we have obtained an inheritance — a spiritual inheritance; and it is the hope of Christ in God’s people that brings them to realize the spiritual benefits of God making good on his promise to Abraham. All who have obtained that inheritance in Christ — both elect Jew and elect Gentile alike — have been, “…sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.” We have not received it all yet, but we have received proof of the coming full realization of heaven’s glory by what we are blessed to experience in the spiritual Land of Promise as we walk in the good land God has given us – the church of Jesus Christ. Paul says, we have (now) obtained that inheritance, “being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”

Today is a good day to be to the praise of His glory as we realize the blessings of having obtained an inheritance.

“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 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:” Ephesians 1:9-10

In my younger days, there were many things that I wanted to accomplish, things I wanted to do and positions in life that I wanted to reach. It was my will and purpose to do those things; yet very few of them came to reality in the way I thought they would. What was the problem? I did not have full control over the circumstances of life, some of which precluded my doing certain things I thought I would do. For example, when I was eighteen a war my country was fighting escalated and I became a member of the military – something I had never planned to do. Even so, I altered my plans to serve the required amount of time and then I would once again pursue the things I wanted to do – or so I thought. During that time I married and we began to have a family. My plans were altered by new responsibilities I had taken on. I never revealed to anyone some of the things I thought I wanted to accomplish, because I could see they were never going to work out. As I look back on the plans and the purposes I had for my life back then I can see that a greater purpose for my life was being set into motion and I now realize that plan was perfect and based on a divine purpose. My God had a purpose for my life, and He did not have to alter His plan because of circumstances. This is not only true for me but also for every one that He chose in Christ and predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. The key to understanding that God’s plans and purpose are never frustrated or altered by circumstances of earthly life is to understand that He executed all things necessary to accomplish His will and purposes in Himself! His love was the motive, His holiness and virtue was the means, and His perfect faithfulness to His word was the surety of accomplishing all things He set out to do. He did not depend upon the whims and changeability of man’s will, nor upon the changing circumstances of our earthly existence; God purposed and executed His perfect will to save His people, and He did so with perfect timing.

Paul speaks of the dispensation of the fulness of times. It is here that men differ as to the timing of God’s perfection of salvation. Is Paul speaking of the end of the natural world when God will gather together all things in Christ, or is he speaking of the fulness of time when God ordained that Jesus Christ would come into the world and pay the awful price required to redeem God’s people from their sins? One clue may be found in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” The dispensation – meaning the administration or distribution of something – of the fulness of times was not the end of what is being considered, it is the beginning! The fulness of times is not a final time at the end of all time, but it is a beginning of the revelation that Jesus our Lord was bringing together all of God’s people in the divine and eternal accomplishments of Christ. In this God was revealing the mystery of His will – that there is one fold and one Shepherd. There is one flock, and one only. There is one kingdom, the kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Paul would tell the churches in Galatia, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). God sent forth His Son and gathered all things together in Him! In doing so He revealed that all heavenly things and all earthly things are perfected in Christ. He gave His people a church – the Lord’s Church, with a simple pattern of worship to cause our hearts to rejoice before Him in the revelation of heavenly things. He gave us a pattern for our earthly lives in following the commandments of Christ. All this was His good pleasure to do, and He calls His dear people into the joy of serving Him in this way. Yes, our earthly plans are sometimes altered, but what a blessing these “alterations” can bring to our lives because He has made known unto us the mystery of His will! His ways are perfect, His purpose is sure and steadfast because He “hath purposed in himself.”

Today is a good day to thank God for the alterations of life He brings our way.

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence” Ephesians 1:7-8

I have found that the words the translators of the King James Bible used bear my paying special attention to their usage and placement in Bible verses. For instance, the word ‘wherein’ in Ephesians 1:8 conveys the same meaning as its usage in Ephesians 1:6, which states, “wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Here Brother Paul tells us, “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.” The preceding word to these phrases in both verses is ‘grace.” The translators did not use the terms, “by which,” or, “with which” to express the effects of God’s riches of grace in the lives of His people; instead, they clearly show that “grace is a place,” as far as its benefits to God’s people are concerned. It is not a geographical location, and neither is it merely a philosophy. It is not just an effect, and it is clearly not a mere opportunity – as it so often seems to be expressed by some people. God’s grace has place and position. It has purpose and power! His grace is directed and effective, and it has a voice that displays its merits with rich overtones of eternal and divine fullness. What is its place and position? God’s grace is firmly established in the promise of Christ and it is positioned in the place of Jesus Christ’s pre-imminent glory, at the right hand of the majesty on high. What is its purpose and power? Is the purpose of grace such that God uses it as a mere mechanism to promise eternal life, but only applies its merit if the one to whom it is offered has power to overcome the deadly effects of sin and take advantage of the offer? God forbid! Grace is not an offer. God, by His grace, has purposed to save His people. Grace is not based on some addition of power that mere mortals can add to it to make it full and effective; The mighty, eternal power of God is applied in full force by His grace, and is sufficient to overcome death by sin. How then is His grace directed? And, is there any limit to its effectiveness? God’s grace is not an effect intended for general and universal application. Grace has its objects. If you have been born of the Spirit of God, you are a manifest object of His grace. You didn’t just happen to come under its effect as if it were some magnetic force to which you came too close and by which you were unwittingly attracted. God directs the full power and effect of His grace to the predetermined objects of His grace – His people chosen in Christ; and in the fullness of the victorious, risen Christ, He grants the objects of His rich grace redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.

It is that rich and full, purposeful and powerful, directed and effective grace wherein He conveys the knowledge of His love and mercy to us. He abounds toward us, meaning that God’s eternal and divine benefits are fully – abundantly – conveyed to us. Our Lord is wise and prudent in applying the benefits of His grace to His people. In his letter to the Roman church, Paul spoke of the “peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2). We can enter into the effects of His grace – we have access by faith, which is the gift of God – and enjoy its gracious power in our lives. We stand in that grace, but we have access by faith to the knowledge of its benefits. God has always shown great wisdom in the way He, “daily loadeth” us “with benefits.” One of the Proverbs states, “I wisdom dwell with prudence.” This is a clear picture of the wisdom of God, and His word explains that Christ is the wisdom of God, and the power of God. How prudently He deals with us on the basis of His wisdom! Surely we can says with Paul, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).

Today is a good day to Thank our God for the abundant wisdom and prudence of His grace.

 ”Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:5-6

 In times past, certain cultures had a custom where a father would take his young son and place him under a strict system of education and training until he proved worthy of the father’s name and position in society. When the son was proved to be worthy, the father would legally adopt the son into the family. I understand the purpose of the legal adoption was to give the son greater inheritance rights than even a natural son would have, and protection against being disinherited. The son was “predestinated” by the father to become legally accepted in the full privileges of the family when he reached a certain level of maturity. If that is the concept Paul is using in this portion of his letter to the Ephesian church, it is a beautiful picture of God the Father’s love for those whom He had chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. His great love for His Son and for those whom He had placed in Him was evidenced by His “setting their destination” beforehand. That activity was that each of those He chose were predestinated to be finally conformed to the image of His beloved Son – the image of His pure holiness and righteousness. In that image, each one will be made accepted in the beloved. The elect of God are not His sons by nature. If we are to be accounted as His sons and enjoy the full privileges of the family of God, we must be adopted into it. In another letter, Paul would show the Galatian Church that this is the way God brought both Jew and Gentile into one family.

 He first showed the Galatians that they had been made heirs of Christ. In Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Neither Jew nor Gentile was an heir by natural birth; instead both were made to be heirs of God’s spiritual riches “according to the promise.” This is the same promise that Paul spoke of in the Ephesian letter. Going on in that Galatian letter, Paul proved the concept and beauty of predestination unto the adoption of children: “Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:1-7). What an eternal splendor we have been shown here! O, the love of God and the depth of the glory of His grace that this displays! We have been made heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, fully accepted in the beloved. The difference in this and in the example given of the natural father is that our heavenly Father did not wait for us to reach a level of “maturity” on our own before adopting us. That is why he placed us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Christ fulfilled the requirements that we could not have fulfilled and we are accepted because He represented us in meeting the Father’s righteous demands. When we are finally raised in His likeness, we shall receive the fullness of that eternal inheritance – fully conformed to the image of the dear Son of God.

 Today is a good day to praise the glory of His grace in making us joint heirs with Christ, “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).