Wednesday, March 19, 2014

being and becoming

A few friends and I are gradually working our way through the New Testament book of Ephesians. We meet monthly and generally take one chapter at a time...you might call it the "gradual approach" to Bible study! Yesterday we discussed chapter 2 of this great book. One theme that seemed to stand out is the emphasis on "who we are in Christ" and "who we are becoming" in Christ. It occurred to me that in this life we tend to emphasize "what we have done" and we worry about "what we will do" as evidence of our value and our status among others. But in Christ the starting point seems to be "who we are", and "who we are becoming".
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The Lord had plans for us that go way back:
Ephesians 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
and...11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
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He has an exciting deliverance for you:
Ephesians 2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. (notice the past tense..."raised us", "seated us" and present tense "we are united")
and...8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. (have you believed yet?)
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And this is what we are becoming:
Ephesians 2:20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
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When it comes to "being and becoming", what have you discovered and experienced on a personal level with God?
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blessings,
Rob Smith

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