God Gave Us…Everything

One of the greatest joys of being a father is watching Wyatt grow and change.  His fascination with well, just about everything, helps fight cynicism and is a perpetual source of enjoyment (except when his fascination is with the coffee pot, stove top, or other potentially dangerous things he knows are “No!”).

During one phase of his growth, he enjoyed bringing one thing after another to Bethany or I.  ”Shoes!” he would exclaim as he carried my Chuck Taylors across the family room carpet.  ”Mook!” is his cry as he hands us his milk cup alerting us that he is definitely ready for more.  There have been days where he has deposited a small pile of toys on our laps as we sit on the couch.

So, what does this have to do with God giving us everything?  Often times, I will be lulled into thinking that Wyatt just wants me to have one little item, but I am surprised to find there are numerous ones to follow.  As a Christian, I have at times been lulled into thinking “well, at least I’m forgiven” while being oblivious to all that God has lavished on me as His child.

The great message of hope is that God sent his Son Jesus (100% God/100% Man…God in the flesh) to die for our sins in our place.  He then was buried, rose from the dead, and lives forevermore.  When we repent of trying to work to earn our place in heaven (“dead works”), and come to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our Savior, we become children of God.  This, of course, involves being forgiven (which is pretty phenomenal in itself), but like Wyatt and his endless stream of toys, there’s MORE (I’m not talking about Health and Wealth…I’m talking relational and eternal blessings from God).

In Ephesians 1:3, the Apostle Paul says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…”  While it would be more comfortable for me to say that God gives all these blessings to everyone regardless of what they believe, I can’t.  These are only found in Christ and are not available apart from believing in Jesus Christ.

We are saved by grace through faith (apart from works) in Jesus Christ, and at the point we believe in Him, we become a child of God.  Whether we realize all this means for us at the time, we are His!  Awesome stuff right?  If I can use poor grammar for a moment, I think it gets “more awesomer!”

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.  Several people have noted that there are “33 things that happen at the moment of salvation” regardless of a person’s awareness that these have occurred.  Maybe it is 33 and maybe it is more, but irrespective of the number, this fits with Paul’s declaration that His grace abounds (overflows) toward us.

In the days and weeks to come, I will be going through each of these spiritual blessings one by one, but for those that like watching all the movie previews even on DVD I can provide a teaser.  In Christ, we:

…were chosen before the foundation of the world

…were predestined to adoption as sons (and daughters too)

…were accepted in the Beloved

…have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins

…have obtained an inheritance

…were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise

…have become temples of the Holy Spirit

…are “in Christ”…and Christ is “in us”

…have eternal life

If you are sitting there wondering if it feels a little selfish to “get all this stuff” consider something.  After Paul mentions that we are predestined to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ, he mentions that this is “according the good pleasure of His will.”  This sounds as if God is quite happy to make us his children and provide us with everything we need spiritually.  He also declares this is to the “praise of the glory of His grace…”  God receives praise because of the glory of His grace, which is shown in how He has blessed us in Christ.  Tiny little humans that are invisible (to the human eye) across the span of the universe and who are lost and cannot save themselves are seen, known, adored and loved by God enough to make them part of His family for eternity.  It sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?  Yeah, maybe, but I’ll take ridiculous and raise you an “amazing” on top of it!  Who gets the glory?  God.

Next time:  Not sure yet!  I may go epistle by epistle and will probably start in Ephesians since that is where I started today.