Graduate 184: Advent & Ephesians, Day 11

"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,..."

--

For those who have been trying to follow these entries as I've been posting them, I apologize for continuing to get them up late. I keep on trying to play catch-up, but keep getting behind. I'm also sorry that I'm not able to do more editing before posting. In some ways, it would probably be better if I put a cap on the number of words (like I did with my last advent series)--and I may still do that. I'm very excited about the ideas that I'm talking about, but I'm also aware that I tend to get carried away, and the presentation is not always clear and, in some cases, I am not, myself, completely clear about the ideas that I am trying to communicate. Because of that, I just want to remind the reader to stay alert when you read. Of course, I never want to say anything incorrect or misleading or contrary to Scripture, but I'm also fallible. So keep your mind engaged as you read. Please excuse any sloppiness on my part. And I hope that these entries are encouraging to you as you prepare for and celebrate the gift of God in Jesus Christ.

--

So far, the Apostle Paul has talked about how we have been chosen, predestined and adopted, redeemed and forgiven, and granted insight into the mystery of His will. In this next part, He focuses on the idea that we have received an inheritance.

Actually there is an ambiguity in the proper interpretation of this passage that leads to two different but complementary interpretations of this passage. The line, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance," can also be translated, "In Him also we were made a heritage". The first translation places emphasis on the way in which we are recipients of an inheritance. The second highlights how we have become part of an inheritance or heritage that belongs to God.

For allusions to the second idea, we can look to passages referring to God's redemption of the people of Israel from Egypt. In Deuteronomy 4:20, Moses writes, "But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today." When Moses prays to God on behalf of the people, He reminds God, "Yet they are Thy people, even Thine inheritance, whom Thou hast brought out by Thy great power and Thine outstretched arm." (9:29) Much later in Israel's history, after it's many rebellions and troubles, the prophet Zechariah prophesied that, "[T]he LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem." (2:12)

Whether we emphasize (1) the way in which our adoption as sons and daughters of God makes us heirs or (2) the way in which we have been adopted and redeemed and chosen to be the people of God, the end result is very much the same. We are made to be recipients of incredible blessings and grace. Those gifts come as we align our lives with the will and purposes of God that were even at work in our adoption and redemption. As we recognize God's unfolding plan and His power and goodness, we are led to trust Him more and more. Again, Paul emphasizes that this gift of God comes to us, "having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will".

Tomorrow, we will talk a little more about how the plan that God began to unfold in His interaction with the people of Israel is brought to fulfillment in the New Testament age.

--

God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.