Ephesians 1:9-10
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Application: 

Once you are adopted because of your faith in Christ, you are defined by your new Father. God grants all of His children access to every spiritual blessing—according to His good pleasure and to the praise of His glorious grace (1:5–6). Therefore, God predetermined to bring a group of people into His family, drafting them into His Son for the purpose of receiving spiritual benefits, manifesting His heavenly rule in their lives, and bringing Him glory. Election is for service and spiritual benefit, not for individual, personal salvation.

For this to happen, God redeemed us from sin (1:7). In the ancient world, slaves could be redeemed; a price could be paid for their freedom. Redemption from sin comes through the price paid by Jesus Christ with his blood (1:7). Why blood? Because the judgment for sin is death (Rom 6:23), and shedding blood means taking life (see Deut 12:23), the sinless Son of God had to die to pay for our sins so we might receive forgiveness (Eph 1:7)—God’s grace is richly poured out on us (1:8).

But God doesn’t save people just so they can go to heaven when they die. He saves them so they can transfer kingdoms—leaving the kingdom of darkness and entering the kingdom of Christ, their new King. Through God’s “wisdom and understanding,” he has planned to bring everything together in Christ (1:8–10), uniting all of history under his rule. God’s goal in history is that, in Christ, heaven and earth are unified (1:10), so we can be aligned under God’s kingdom reign and live transformed lives to bring him pleasure. God works everything according to his purpose and will (1:11) to promote this Christ-centered view of history. Nothing happens by chance. All exists to glorify his name and lift up his Son (1:12).

Reference: Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 1219.

To God be the glory!

Our Lord Jesus Christ created everything! By Him, For Him!

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Disclaimer

When God inspires me, I write blogs. Consider this writing as a Bible study. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, search the Scriptures to determine whether what I write is so. Always consult with your church ministers about biblical matters. I am also not a professional writer, so some grammar or spelling errors may be present. I try my best to write as efficiently as possible. Your brother in Christ, Ricardo

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