“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
~Ephesians 2:6-7
And God…
We saw in earlier verses that the word ‘but’ was used to signify a change or difference in what had just been presented. Here we see the conjunction today ‘and’ is being used to tell us there is more depth to what God has lavished upon us in addition to Spiritual blessing to operate within. These external realities that have been poured onto us and sprinkled around us are also placed within us.
God’s love and mercy and grace and peace transform us on the inside and transport us into the very bosom of the Trinity, to be seated with Christ in a position of righteousness with the Author and Perfecter of our faith; our very identities have been reimagined and reassigned. Do you remember how Paul first addressed the Ephesians and how he shared with them his own identity when we looked together at Ephesians 1:1? The question we were asked to consider was also the title of the devotional: Who Are You?
Not much has changed in our culture since Paul first penned these words nearly 2000 thousand years ago. We are all searching for belonging, to some degree, and to find ourselves, to define ourselves, and to individualize our personalities and uniqueness therein—and there is nothing wrong with that inner drive and desire for discovery! We go amiss when we become the sole authors of our truth, or when we lean into someone or some other to help us co-author our narrative when those things or persons are not the Creator of all things, God Himself. Paul is encouraging the Ephesian readers—and ourselves—to explore and discover our identities, stressing the lens of our searching must be through the Person of Jesus Christ; it is God through whom we find our identity.
God has something to prove: The truth of his love for us goes beyond our darkened desires to walk away from Him. The Trinity wants us to embrace the Son and receive the Spirit so the wrath of the Father can be poured out upon our sin, and not upon us as we carry our it.
As New Creations, we should be the testifying witnesses of the incomparable riches of God’s Treasure Map, and inviting others to the peace and rest that redemption brings and forgiving just as the Trinity has forgiven us…
Since when did the Trinity lay upon us the responsibility to be agents of shame, blame, accusation, and judgment?
Get out that list of identifications you put together after the Ephesians 1:1 devotional,
Who Am I?- What changes would you make to that list if you were to write it today?
- Additions?
- Subtractions?
- Any redefinitions?
Since we are invited into a deeper understanding of who we are and the incomparable riches of God's treasures, use this week of discovery to operate according to the Spirit's power and transformation…
- Speak life and light and the power of the Trinity to transform, bless, and heal…
- You can start by first acknowledging these realities through prayer and then speaking those realities to yourself.
- Then you can begin to show the incomparable riches of his grace and express his kindness to us and others in Christ Jesus.
- Listen. When difficulty comes or frustrating circumstances manifest, stop, breathe, listen, and limit your outward responses while you allow the work you are being invited to experience within yourself to vibrate within you and take hold.
- God may be whispering to you… You can't talk and listen at the same time.
