(Eph. 1:3-7.)
LET the true Christian meditate upon the present and abiding favor of God to him in Christ, for he is blessed now while on earth in the midst of a thousand contrary influences, With ALL spiritual blessings.
Even though he may apprehend but very, very few of them, and though he may often lament his poverty and his sense of emptiness, all are his, and his now. These blessings are not of an earthly kind. They are not of the basket and the store, neither are they of bodily health, or of temporal prosperity. They are the Christian’s
In the heavenly places.
They are enjoyed by faith on earth, and as the Christian is more and more Spirit-taught so he more and more enjoys these spiritual things. As he by faith dwells in the heavenly places so does he perceive the blessings. But whether he has the enjoyment of them or not, all the spiritual blessings are his, for they are his
IN Christ.
They are not vested in himself, or handed to him for his own custody, but they are his solely IN Christ, and therefore they are absolutely secure.
Now, what is the measure of these wonderful gifts, bestowed upon the Christian by the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? How shall he test the greatness of their marvelous lengths and breadths? By one measure alone―by the free will and pleasure of God Himself. God’s grace alone is the explanation of the all, of the blessings, or of the reason why the blessings should be ours. No human will, no human thought had to say to these things, they are all of God.
All the spiritual blessings wherewith we are blessed in the heavenly places in Christ are ours, According as He (God) hath chosen us in Him (Christ).
God’s choice is our exultation. He hath been pleased in choosing persons―men, and women, and children―in Christ to please Himself. We can but stand amazed as we behold the manner of His love. Now this His choice being in Christ, we are not chosen for our good behavior, or for our attractiveness to God — far, far from it―but we are chosen out of the depths of God’s own will. Moreover, the choice was made Before the foundation of the world.
Yes, prior to time and to man’s creation, before paradise and before the fall, God had His wonderful purpose respecting eternity in His mind. Ah! how little is God apprehended as God by feeble man! “Before the foundation of the world.” How small do these words make the world appear! God hath chosen us in Christ. How important, do these words teach us, are the saints thus chosen greater than the world which passeth away; and how immeasurable the grace that chooses, and the glory that shall be theirs so chosen!
What was the end God had in view in thus choosing us in Christ? He had His own deep purpose in this His will. Here is the reply:
That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
God planned concerning His creatures that some should stand before Him as children, holy, for He is holy, without a fault in His light, and at rest before Him in His love. God is light; God is love. We shall be holy and blameless before Him in His light; we shall in love be before Him in His love.
Fear is natural to the human heart whenever God is present to man in His holiness. At the sound of His voice in the garden, Adam and Eve, fallen from their first estate, hid themselves. And so it has been ever since with men. But God will have His children before Him in love; there will be no wish to hide oneself from Him in the glory. There will be no fault in us in the coming day for God’s eye to rest on, and no sin in us to make us tremble at His presence; hence ours will be holy and happy, as well as everlasting, liberty before Him.
But while perfect joy will be thus ours, none the less will glory be our portion. Our God and Father has
Predestinated us unto the adoption of sons.
The glorious portion of sons of God is our destiny―sons in glory, worthy, by grace, of the glory wherein we shall shine. The term child arouses thoughts of affection―that of son, not only those of love, but also thoughts of glory and honor. What a contrast awaits the Christian! He, who here is weak and despised, has a nobler destiny than even that of the angels. Great and glorious as they are, the adoption of sons is not theirs; no, God has reserved this for the beggars of the dunghill, the outcasts, the poor and needy souls, whom He has found upon this earth and fitted in Christ for everlasting Honor. Yet, as we ponder over this grace and this glory, we rest upon the words― By Jesus Christ to Himself;
For of God, and in and by Christ, are all our blessings. Not only are we blessed in Christ, but our blessings become ours by Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus has wrought out the work whereby we, in nature so far off from God, and by nature so sinful and at enmity to God, are brought nigh. He has come from the heights of heavenly glory down to the low estate of man upon the earth, and has associated God’s children with Himself, and made them sharers of His glory as Man risen from the dead. This exalted portion, fellow Christian, is that of all saints―none is left out. Each saint is a child and a son, and all shall before long appear in glory before their God and Father to the praise of His glory.
And in that glory, as its wonders are beheld, of which we have so faint a conception here, we shall each learn more and more deeply that all is of grace―God’s own infinite grace―all is “according to the good pleasure of His will,
To the praise of the glory of His grace, Wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.”