Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the
WEEK 18
BASKING IN GOD'S LOVE
EPHESIANS 1:1-14
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who
were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
FATHER, we come before You to echo and to celebrate
the vast blessings of our redemption, to the praise of Your glory.
We rejoice that we have been blessed
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Before the foundation of the world,
You chose us to be holy and blameless in Your presence. We were lovingly predestined to become
Your sons and daughters. We have now obtained complete redemption
through the blood of Christ. His sacrifice on the cross purchased
full forgiveness for all our sins. Thus we have been lavished with Your grace,
and You have opened the eyes of our understanding
so that we might know the hope of Your calling. You have given us an immeasurable inheritance.1
And You have sealed all these promises
by giving us Your Holy Spirit.
Before You even created the universe,
it was Your eternal purpose to bestow on us
Your love and Your grace, so that we might in turn worship Your Son forever
with our love and our praise.
We get a small taste of that privilege now
when we commune with You in prayer.
And so we acknowledge with deepest gratitude
that we are the recipients of vast heavenly blessings. You have deluged us with Your grace. You have made us Your sons and daughters—
even though we were Your avowed enemies. We were dead and You gave us life. We were in darkness and You brought us into the light. We were separated from Christ,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel
and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. We were far off, but You brought us near by the blood of Christ.2
Even now we stand in need of Your grace moment by moment. Help us to abide in Christ and draw life and vitality
as branches from the eternal Vine. We know that we can do nothing good or holy
without the strength He supplies.3
We desire to be fruitful and thus prove
to be true and faithful disciples.4
We long to be bright beacons of Your truth in a world of darkness. We earnestly hunger and thirst for Your righteousness. Grant us the wisdom, the will, and the power
to work for what pleases You.5
Lord, we come before You eager to offer You our praise,
but we confess that we are restrained by our inability to apprehend
the greatness of Your glory and Your grace toward us. We can't even discern our own errors rightly. Acquit us of hidden faults;
keep us back from presumptuous sins.6
Liberate us, we pray, from all the limitations of our fallen sinfulness
and set us free to praise You with full understanding.
Be honored as we bow our hearts before You in prayer,
and be glorified once more as we raise our voices
before You in worship. Fix our thoughts on Your truth and give us singleness of mind
so that our worship may be acceptable to You. We earnestly desire these things in the name of Christ. Amen.
1. Ephesians 1:18 2. Ephesians 2:12-13 3. John 15:5 4. John 15:8 5. Philippians 2:13 6. Psalm 19:12-13