From "In Sin" to "In Christ"

I'm a morning person. The quiet freshness as light pushes through the darkness energizes me. This is the time I spend with the Lord, usually concluding by reading Ephesians 1:3–14. This soaring Trinitarian doxology re-orients me to gospel realities that transcend whoever and whatever I face each day.

These verses settle my soul. They fortify me to think biblically about every relationship and situation. They remind me that, though life is often confusing, complicated, and chaotic, the Triune God elected and loves me. Consider two implications of His Sovereign love:

1. His love radically changes our status from in sin (2:1) to in Christ (vv. 3–14).
   Since we are chosen in Christ, every spiritual blessing is ours; our Father sees us as holy and blameless; we are adopted, redeemed, forgiven. He lavishes grace upon us so we can know the mystery of His will—His eternal redemptive plan to unite us and all things in Christ. Because of this, nothing is random, everything has meaning, there is perfect harmony even in what looks chaotic.

   Through our union with Christ, we have an eternal inheritance that is guaranteed by His Spirit living in us. This sovereignly-initiated relationship cannot be earned, so it cannot be lost. We are saved, sanctified, and sustained by His grace.

2. We have an extraordinary purpose: to put God's glory on display (vv. 6, 12, 14).
   The Father chose us before creation, the Son redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit applies what the Father purposed and the Son accomplished by giving us a new heart that can believe the gospel. Each person of the Trinity has a different function in our salvation, but there is a unity of purpose—to praise His glorious grace.

   I love the profound simplicity of this. My purpose is to glorify Him—to praise and reflect the goodness of His glorious grace—in every situation and relationship. No self-serving purpose can ever compare to our Father's purpose for us.

Morning light comes gradually, but without fail it overtakes the darkness. So does the light of the gospel in the lives of those who are in Christ. Growth in grace is gradual, so Paul prayed for this growth in verses 17–20.

Will you join me in using this prayer in Ephesians 1:17–20 to guide us as we prepare for True Woman '14? Let's ask God to give us a spirit of wisdom and to open the eyes of our hearts to an ever-increasing knowledge of our hope, inheritance, and power—the very power that raised Jesus from the dead.

This resurrection power enables us to put His glorious grace on display to our family, friends, and sisters in Christ from around the world. The immeasurable greatness of this power can enable us to parade His glory through the hotels, restaurants, and streets of Indianapolis. I can't wait to see this glorious spectacle. I can't wait to see Jesus in you.