Daily Bible Reading 6th September 2024 // Ephesians 1:3-12
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
Adoption is a subject that has its own particular significance and has nowhere been better defined than in the Shorter Catechism as 'an act of God's free grace whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God'. In Paul's thought it is the fact of the Spirit's dwelling in our hearts that makes us sons and daughters of God. Spiritual rebirth in Christ brings us into His family, and the spirit we receive when we are incorporated into Christ is the spirit of adoption. 'God setteth the solitary in families', says the Psalmist (Psalm 68:6) - this is the heart of adoption, and it means that now, in Christ, we 'belong' and we 'matter'. Not only so: we are also saved into meaning and purpose, into knowledge of God's will (8-10). Those whom He has reconciled to Himself as sons He also enlightens with the understanding of His purpose. This is developed further in chs 2 and 3. This opens a rich vein of truth and we will need to leave it until tomorrow's Note to do justice to it.