TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:6-7
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​Memorize this Verse: (Cover the verse text and using just the first letters of each word try to recite the entire passage.)
6. T T P O T G O H G W H H M U A I T B
7. I W W H R T H B T F O S A T T R O H G

Notes on these verses:

Ephesians 1:6 “To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.”

Jesus Christ is our Redeemer from sin, the Beloved (the word indicates the One who is in the state of being loved by God), who Himself paid the price for our release from sin and death. Because we now belong to Christ, by faith made one with Him and placed in His Body, we are now acceptable to God. Because we are now in the Beloved, we too are “beloved of God” (Romans 1:7).

The reason God predestined us to be His sons, (verse 5), is expressed in the words “to the praise of the glory of his grace”, that is in order to magnify the splendor of His goodness to us.

“Wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” may also read, “which (grace), He has bestowed on us by the Beloved.” Through Christ we are the recipients of God’s unmerited favor.

We must admit that it is to His praise, and not ours. Salvation through grace is none of our doing, it is His. “Grace”, as we have said before, is unmerited favor. Even the fact that we are acceptable to the Father is because we have taken on the righteousness of Christ. Our righteousness is as filthy rags.

It is His righteousness that puts us in right standing with the Father. The Beloved here, is Jesus Christ. It is only in Him, that we are acceptable.

Jeremiah 23:6 “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;”

Until a person realizes his need for redemption, he sees no need for a Redeemer. Until he recognizes that he is hopelessly enslaved to sin, he will not seek release from it. But when he does, he will be freed from the curse of sin, placed in Christ’s Body, and blessed with His every spiritual blessing.

Redemption referred to the release of a slave or captive upon receipt of ransom. But the following words, the forgiveness of sins, show “redemption” is used here in a moral sense. The primary result of redemption for the believer is forgiveness. Christians are therefore released from their enslavement to sin and the resulting divine wrath.

Redemption is effected for us through his blood, that is, by Christ’s atonement secured by His death on the cross.

On the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament when the blood was carried into the Holy of Holies for the sins of the people, the sins were covered over with the blood. This did not do away with the sin, it only covered it up. It did not clear the conscience of the sinner.

In the case of the Lord Jesus Christ, His blood does away with the sin. It blots the sin out. It leaves us free of sin. Jesus’ precious blood clears our conscience. He not only takes away our sin, but He gives us His righteousness in return.

We do absolutely nothing, except repent of our sins and have faith in Jesus as our Redeemer. He redeemed us from the curse of the law.

Colossians 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins:”

While we were yet in sin, Jesus shed His blood to save us from sin, self, and the devil.

Shedding of blood is a metonym for death, which is the penalty and the price of sin. Christ’s own death, by the shedding of His blood, was the substitute for our death. That which we deserved and could not save ourselves from, the beloved Savior, though He did not deserve it, took upon Himself. He made payment for what otherwise would have condemned us to death and hell.

When Jesus comes into our lives as Savior and Lord, He says to us what He said to the woman caught in the act of adultery, “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:1-2).

Because we continue to sin, we need the continued forgiveness of cleansing; but we do not need the continued forgiveness of redemption. This does not mean we will no longer sin, or that when we do, our sins have no harmful effect. They have a profound effect on our growth, joy, peace, usefulness, and ability to have intimate and rich communion with the Father. Thus, the believer is called on to ask for forgiveness daily so that he may enjoy not just the general forgiveness of redemption, but the specific forgiveness of daily cleansing, which brings fellowship and usefulness to their maximum.

Because God accepts every believer as He accepts His own Son, every believer ought to accept himself in the same way. We do not accept ourselves for what we are in ourselves any more than God accepts us for that reason. We accept ourselves as forgiven and as righteous because that is what God Himself declares us to be. To think otherwise is not a sign of humility but of arrogance, because to think otherwise is to put our own judgment above God’s Word and to belittle the redemption price paid for us by His own beloved Son. A Christian who denigrates himself and doubts full forgiveness denies the work of God and denigrates a child of God. If we matter to God, we certainly ought to matter to ourselves.

“According to the riches of His grace”: We need never worry that our sin will outstrip God’s gracious forgiveness. “Where sin increased,” Paul assures us, “grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). Our heavenly Father does not simply give us subsistence forgiveness that will barely cover our sins if we are careful not to overdo. We cannot sin beyond God’s grace, because as wicked and extensive as our sins might be or become, they will never approach the greatness of His grace. His forgiveness is infinite, and He lavishes it without measure upon those who trust in His Son. We therefore not only can enjoy future glory with God but present fellowship with Him as well.

TODAY'S BIBLE READING

February 22

​Old Testament
Leviticus 18-20  —  7.5 minutes
Psalms 44  —  5.0 minutes

New Testament
Matthew 20:1-16  —  3.5 minutes
Acts 27:1-26  —  6.0 minutes

Total Average Read Time — 22.0 minutes