June 20, 2012
If we could only embrace each and every day, the magnificence of who we were created to be in our Father, we would be more than conquerors! As we approach the events of great tribulation and challenges, it is most vital that we read the Word daily, and pray on who we were made to be. In Ephesians, Paul writes to the church of Ephesus, and tells them they have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. (Eph 1:3). The next two verses 4 and 5 are so profound: He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestined us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Let's take a deeper look. We were chosen before the foundation of the world. Incredible! We have always been with the Father, and before we came into being here, He had a plan and a purpose for our lives. The word predestined in the Greek means "to determine before, to ordain, to limit in advance". He already had everything planned out for us! We have been adopted, in Greek, "the placing as a son" to Himself. And because of the sacrifice of Yeshua and His shed blood, we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins (vs.7). Paul then goes on to tell the church (us) that the Father made known unto us the mystery of His will (vs.9). This mystery is mysterion, a term that reveals a secret, and the secret is the disclosure of who Yeshua is as the Messiah, a phenomenon that remained hidden for a long time in the past until now. It tells of a spiritual illumination and understanding that we His followers can have, concerning God's plan of salvation for the whole world, Jews and Gentiles alike. We can know the secret! Yeshua is not only God incarnate, but the full embodiment of the divinely ordained Messianic King, first prophesied by the Hebrew canonical prophets of Old.
Verses 10 and 11 then go on to tell us that in the dispensation (administration) of the fulness of times, we will all be one in Yeshua because we are heirs of the kingdom. Think about this. We are sons and daughters of a KING! Royalty in Him. We then learn that we are sealed once we believe in Yeshua for our salvation, with the Holy Spirit of promise. To be sealed in the Greek, sphragizo, means to be stamped with a signet or private mark for security or preservation. Imagine this! There are priveleges that come with being sealed, being stamped with the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual eyes are then opened, we receive God's wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him, we can then understand the hope of our calling, the 'why's' of our purpose here, and truly grasp what it means to be heirs to the most magnificent Kingdom there ever was or ever will be. (vs.17).
With His Spirit indwelling us we also become quickened, reanimated conjointly with Father. (Eph.2:1,5) We consciously walk away from darkness, and the prince of the power of the air, in whom we dwelt previously when we were in the world. We are built into a habitation of God through the Spirit (Eph.2: 22) with Yeshua as our chief corner stone (vs.20). At this point, we are called to walk in boldness and authority and strength,with faith being rooted and grounded in love. (Eph.3:12,16, 17) We can now understand how much our Father truly loves us, and to what extent He will go for us when we ask in humility and faith. It is also an understanding that we can move forward, and with His authority and power, in all things that come our way each day. The enemy has no stronghold over any part of our lives, as long as we are in full submission to the Holy Spirit, and allow ourselves to be reanimated and renewed constantly.
So as we face each new day, know that we each have a unique and important mission in this life for His kingdom, all for the edification of the body of Christ. We are to walk worthy of our calling (Eph.4: 1), and we are to be undaunted when it comes to the darts of the enemy as he tries to derail us and keep us from fulfilling the mission we were sent here to do. We are no longer to be like children, tossed back and forth, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. The enemy will always bring deception through false teachings and doctrines of men, and we must remember, he is often disguised as a being of light. (Eph.4:14)
I encourage you therefore to take the time to read and pray and get to know who you really are in Yeshua the Messiah. Understand what it means to be a Kingdom heir, and the benefits of the promises of this inheritance. It is only through this revealing by the Holy Spirit that any of us will be able to stand in the coming dark days, where the earth must be purged and purified of the dark forces that, for so long, have dominated our world. Keep your armor on, walk in complete power and authority given to you from above, ask the Lord to rebuke the enemy at every turn, and renew your mind and spirit each day as the Spirit leads you closer and closer to our eternal home.
May Father bless you and keep you close this day. Amen.
If we could only embrace each and every day, the magnificence of who we were created to be in our Father, we would be more than conquerors! As we approach the events of great tribulation and challenges, it is most vital that we read the Word daily, and pray on who we were made to be. In Ephesians, Paul writes to the church of Ephesus, and tells them they have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. (Eph 1:3). The next two verses 4 and 5 are so profound: He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestined us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Let's take a deeper look. We were chosen before the foundation of the world. Incredible! We have always been with the Father, and before we came into being here, He had a plan and a purpose for our lives. The word predestined in the Greek means "to determine before, to ordain, to limit in advance". He already had everything planned out for us! We have been adopted, in Greek, "the placing as a son" to Himself. And because of the sacrifice of Yeshua and His shed blood, we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins (vs.7). Paul then goes on to tell the church (us) that the Father made known unto us the mystery of His will (vs.9). This mystery is mysterion, a term that reveals a secret, and the secret is the disclosure of who Yeshua is as the Messiah, a phenomenon that remained hidden for a long time in the past until now. It tells of a spiritual illumination and understanding that we His followers can have, concerning God's plan of salvation for the whole world, Jews and Gentiles alike. We can know the secret! Yeshua is not only God incarnate, but the full embodiment of the divinely ordained Messianic King, first prophesied by the Hebrew canonical prophets of Old.
Verses 10 and 11 then go on to tell us that in the dispensation (administration) of the fulness of times, we will all be one in Yeshua because we are heirs of the kingdom. Think about this. We are sons and daughters of a KING! Royalty in Him. We then learn that we are sealed once we believe in Yeshua for our salvation, with the Holy Spirit of promise. To be sealed in the Greek, sphragizo, means to be stamped with a signet or private mark for security or preservation. Imagine this! There are priveleges that come with being sealed, being stamped with the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual eyes are then opened, we receive God's wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him, we can then understand the hope of our calling, the 'why's' of our purpose here, and truly grasp what it means to be heirs to the most magnificent Kingdom there ever was or ever will be. (vs.17).
With His Spirit indwelling us we also become quickened, reanimated conjointly with Father. (Eph.2:1,5) We consciously walk away from darkness, and the prince of the power of the air, in whom we dwelt previously when we were in the world. We are built into a habitation of God through the Spirit (Eph.2: 22) with Yeshua as our chief corner stone (vs.20). At this point, we are called to walk in boldness and authority and strength,with faith being rooted and grounded in love. (Eph.3:12,16, 17) We can now understand how much our Father truly loves us, and to what extent He will go for us when we ask in humility and faith. It is also an understanding that we can move forward, and with His authority and power, in all things that come our way each day. The enemy has no stronghold over any part of our lives, as long as we are in full submission to the Holy Spirit, and allow ourselves to be reanimated and renewed constantly.
So as we face each new day, know that we each have a unique and important mission in this life for His kingdom, all for the edification of the body of Christ. We are to walk worthy of our calling (Eph.4: 1), and we are to be undaunted when it comes to the darts of the enemy as he tries to derail us and keep us from fulfilling the mission we were sent here to do. We are no longer to be like children, tossed back and forth, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. The enemy will always bring deception through false teachings and doctrines of men, and we must remember, he is often disguised as a being of light. (Eph.4:14)
I encourage you therefore to take the time to read and pray and get to know who you really are in Yeshua the Messiah. Understand what it means to be a Kingdom heir, and the benefits of the promises of this inheritance. It is only through this revealing by the Holy Spirit that any of us will be able to stand in the coming dark days, where the earth must be purged and purified of the dark forces that, for so long, have dominated our world. Keep your armor on, walk in complete power and authority given to you from above, ask the Lord to rebuke the enemy at every turn, and renew your mind and spirit each day as the Spirit leads you closer and closer to our eternal home.
May Father bless you and keep you close this day. Amen.
