👋 Hey 👋 If you want to truly experience Rock-solid Eternal Spirituality Today, try thinking 🤔about the Inheritance you have “In Christ Jesus,” because of your relationship to God through Him and IN Him. Sadly, most people have no clue about this inheritance, and they miss out on this which the Apostle Paul calls, “The riches of glorious Inheritance of the Saints;” therefore, God’s R.E.S.T. escapes their grasp.
Let Me Help You Take Hold
One of the ways I help people take hold of this R.E.S.T, is to simplify this by putting God’s Inheritance for you in the form of an acrostic. And I base this acrostic on God’s “blessings & Inheritance” passage that sets the foundation for the entire Epistle to The Ephesians:
Check out Ephesians 1:3-14. Take some time with it. Read it. Re- read it. I prefer doing this using the 1984 NIV, which, in my humble opinion, doesn’t over translate the passage, but it puts it in plain, simple English. Now, if you are in another non English speaking country, the acrostic I share will lose something; however, the absolute truth of The Inheritance God has for you will be there to provide you with R.E.S.T.
IF
IF you have now taken time with this passage, and if you have prayerfully, and carefully read and RE-read it, you are ready to see God’s Inheritance for you in acrostic form. If not, then it is plausible that you will not receive the greatest benefit of what God is saying personally to you as an individual.
The Acrostic: C.H.R.I.S.T.
The Apostle Paul Starts With A Praise Which You Can Praise Before Each Promise. It is Verse 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 Jesus!
Chosen: Verse 4
To Be Holy & Blameless In God’s Sight:
I know this is hard for some to grasp, but God decided to say to you, “I pick you.” Yes, indeed. He picks you, according to verse 4, “before the creation of the world.” For what purpose? He did so to declare you, and to make you, “holy and blameless in God’s sight! Paul isn’t praising God because of you being holy in anyone’s sight but God’s. And he isn’t praising God because people cannot blame you for anything. God decided HE would not blame you for anything, if you are “IN Christ” and Christ is “IN you.” Whatever wrongs you have done, in Christ, you get a clean slate as if you had done nothing wrong, as well as make you holy so you can live, and become, like Jesus the Christ.
To be adopted as God’s child: Verse 5
I really like this part of being chosen: Why? Well, I like it because this promise says that God’s motive for adopting you is three fold. He does it “In love.” Yep! He simply loves you, and so He wants to be your Heavenly Holy Parent. The second reason is, according to the Word of God, adopting you brings God “pleasure.” Now think of that. Finally, God adopts you simply because God wants to. That is, He adopts you because it is His will.
Check out Romans 8:28 and 29. Many people know verse 28. They love saying, “God works in all things for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose;” yet, few know what is the “good” that God is working out. That is where verse 29 comes in. “For those whom He foreknew, He for ordained to be formed into the image of Christ that He, Jesus, might be the first born among many brothers and sisters.” See, God knew you before you ever were, and He knew if you would turn to Christ or not. He knew this because of Him seeing what you would do in the future; therefore, He said, I pick you based on the choice He saw you making. He sealed it that way. He also, in this passage, gives us the vital truth what, “the good” He is working out in you and me really is: The good is God forming us into the image of Jesus. He is making us in “the spitting image” of our elder brother, Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but I would be praising God too, just as Paul is praising God! What a privilege to be Chosen by God to be holy and blameless “in His sight.” What a privilege to be chosen to be adopted children of God because it’s God’s will to do so, and because it pleases Him. What a privilege, as adopted children to be formed, as adopted children, in to the image of our elder brother who is THE Son of God. I’m feeling kind of shouting happy now.
My question for you is, when God looked to your day and life, what kind of choice did He see you make when Jesus was offered to you to become your Savior?
Holy Spirit is given you. Verse14
What is this all about? I would have to say, regarding the inheritance, that this is HUGE! As you read this part of our inheritance, you will see from these verses that the Holy Spirit is God’s deposit wherein God guarantees all of this inheritance. Wow! This is better than any guarantee you can ever receive. Everything God says IS your inheritance comes with a 100% guarantee from God.
POWER:
However, the Holy Spirit gives us much more. Acts 1:8 tells us that “You will receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witness…” The Greek word translated “power” is the word from which we have the English word “dynamite.” Without the Holy Spirits power in us, we have not power at all; however, if we allow Him into our lives, we have more power for living than we can ever imagine. Acts 1:8, again tells us that we have the power to be witnesses.
Spiritual Fruit:
Still, there is more: Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the Holy Spirit bears fruit in us. Indeed, the Holy Spirit develops in you, and in me, “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self control.” God will not force this on us, but if we daily surrender, we will experience this miracle of becoming God’s “new creation.”
Spiritual Gifts:
And there is even more: Take a little time to read 1 Corinthians. Specifically, spend time with chapters 12, 13 and 14. Here you will find God’s gifts. And there are many. Look them over. Seek to have them. Ask the Holy Spirit to give them to you, especially the best gifts of “Faith, Hope and Love.” As an heir of God’s family, you are God’s holy blameless one to whom He wants to gift you with these things.
I will add that in, our modern era, some reading this have special technological gifts. Receive them, develop them and use them for the glory of God.
Redemption is yours. Verses 7-8
There is no greater part of the inheritance than this: In Jesus, we have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,” Keep reading and you will see that this forgiveness is in “accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Yes, this kind of forgiveness if far better than any forgiveness offered by mere humans. And it is a forgiveness that God has “lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” Now this is truly a forgiveness like NO other!
Included IN Christ as well as Christ IN you. Verse 13a
Have you ever been excluded? I have. As a matter of fact, I experienced exclusion from people who were all about including others. I took heat praying in Jesus name. I was told not to wear my cross around my neck. My own personal values, that came as a result of being a Christ Follower, were disallowed. It was made clear to me that, if I didn’t disallow them myself, then I would be disavowed or treated coolly. Once, because, I even talked about the subject of praying in Jesus name, I was invited to resign my position. I stood my ground, but it wasn’t easy. All of us like to be included. I don’t know of many people that long to be excluded.
Nevertheless, as heirs of God’s Kingdom, and of the family of God, we are included “IN Christ,” and He is included IN us. We don’t hear much about being “IN Christ.” But I am told that the book of Ephesians uses this phrase 35 times. Yes, Christ is indeed in us when we open our hearts to Him. But, once we believed the “Word of truth,” We became included “IN Christ.” This is God’s pure demonstration of what it means to be intimate with God, through Christ Jesus, by the power of The Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, we are so “intimate” that we are “one spirit with Christ.” (See 1 Corinthians 6:17.) And if you want an Old Testament example of this special intimacy, simply take some time to rest in the promises of Psalm 139.
Security Is Yours. Verse 13c
Unbreakable Seal”
Feeling insecure is an uncomfortable thing; however, being embraced, and sealed by the grip of God’s grace, in God’s security, is like nothing a person can ever experience. God seals us into this relationship, and as we mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit guarantees this.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says it another way: “It is God who makes, both us and you, stand firm in Christ. He has anointed us, set His seal of ownership on is, and He has given us His Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. Wow! God is the one who makes us keep our feet planted on the solid rock of Christ and His teachings. God also anoints us. In Christ, you are an anointed being! God is the one who settles the issue of who owns us: He does! He places His blessings on us by His Spirit guaranteeing our future. Now, only God can do that: Only God can guarantee a future! It doesn’t get any better than that!
Totally being prepared for the fulfillment of the mystery of the final reign of Christ. Verses 9-11
God’s Mystery:
Many of us like a good mystery, but I doubt if many know that God actually revealed to anyone “the mystery of His will,” which is mentioned in these verses. Yet, this is precisely what the Almighty has done for His heirs.
“He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all things, in heaven and on earth, together under one head, even Christ.”
Yes, just to His heirs, God revealed this mystery: He did so on purpose, and He did it because it was, and is, His will. And this mystery will be fulfilled at just the right moment and just the right time. It is God’s plan to bring “ALL things,” in heaven, and on the earth under ONE authority and ONE authority alone! I am talking about Jesus. We saints, or heirs of God, already know this, and we have already surrendered, voluntarily, by bowing our knees, and confessing with our mouths that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The world doesn’t understand this because this is spiritually discerned. (See 1 Corinthians 2:14)
During these evil, weird, and lawless days, huge numbers of people are in rebellion against God. They worship the creature, and do not care about the ways of The Creator; yet, they too will bow their knees and confess Jesus as Lord, but it will be impossibly late for them, and all the fallen angels, and demons, inspiring them and breathing death into them, today. I do pray they change before it is eternally incredibly late for them.
Here is a more clear way to see this. It is located in Philippians 2:9-11.
Therefore, God exalted Him (Jesus) to the highest place,
And He gave Him the name that IS above every name,
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in Heaven, and on earth and under
the earth,
And every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ IS Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Yes, Christ Follower and heirs of God, you and I have done this, and we did so gladly, when we invited Jesus into our lives to become both Lord and Savior; yet, know this: You and I, therefore, as heirs of God, are totally prepared for the fulfillment of the final reign of Christ. We are delivered from bondage to sin and death! Because we are God’s heirs, in Christ, we are given victory over hell, death and the grave. We are no longer under the rule of the Kingdom of Darkness. We are heirs of the Kingdom of light!
However, God’s mystery will be fulfilled. Every being, above the earth, below the earth, and on the earth will submit to the Lordship of Jesus! Everyone, will bow down and acknowledge He is Lord! I hope some do so before it is not possible to save them. Reach out to them! Pray that God will give them eyes to see, and ears to hear what the Holy Spirit longs for them to experience, which is God’s inheritance in Christ Jesus!
CELEBRATE!
Celebrate, friends! If you are IN Christ, and He is IN you, celebrate the inheritance you have that is like no other: Celebrate you are ….
Chosen to be holy and blameless in God’s sight, and you are His adopted Child!
Holy Spirit’s guarantee, fruit and gifts, they are yours!
Redemption, God’s lavishing forgiveness for you!
Inclusion, and intimacy with God is yours!
Security IS yours!
Total preparation for the fulfillment of the mystery of the final reign of Christ is yours!
Celebrate Indeed! R.E.S.T: Experience God’s Rock-solid Eternal Spirituality Today.
SoJourner
Rock Solid Living 