Watch Your Language!
Opening Prayer
Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I thank You for the many ways You have made Yourself known to me.
Read EPHESIANS 1:1–14
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“Paul is thus declaring that the presence of the Spirit (13b,14) in believer’s lives is both a sign of God’s ownership and sovereignty, and the confirmation of the promise to give us more in the future” (Alister McGrath).
Think Further
On a scale of 1 to 10, how adult is the way that we talk about God? William Willimon says that Christian believers have to learn to “talk funny” because faith requires a whole new strange adult language using words like holy, grace and redemption to describe God’s totally different work. Frankly, the world doesn’t understand. Ordinary language misses out on this “talking funny”!
Undeniably, Paul is at level 10! After his greeting (1,2) he launches into one tumultuous sentence in the original Greek (3–14), focused on what God has done for us in Jesus. Highlight the words that “talk funny”—that you don’t find in
everyday conversation. Marvel how God, Father and Son, blesses us on earth and simultaneously in “heavenly realms” (3). We belong simultaneously within divine fellowship and eternal purposes on earth right now. Perhaps the most adult expressions include “predestined us for adoption” (5) and “predestined according to the plan” (11). Predestination is a heavy word because it raises issues of free will and those who are not chosen, but it emphasizes how much God takes the love initiative with us in Jesus Christ (John 15:16).
Amazingly, in Jesus he foreordains us in his eternal world plan which is beyond our present understanding. Ultimately it will lead to new creation in Christ (9,10). It’s all God’s work. Of course, we have responsibility for making faith responses and daily decisions, but this language marvels that God is the one who is writing the story of the whole world and that we belong by his choosing in his big story with Christ (Col. 1:15–20).
No wonder Paul worships in these verses using extraordinary new language. These special Christian words and doctrines will resonate throughout the letter and we need to understand and use them.
Apply
Let’s not use bland language that dumbs down God’s unique work, but be stretched in adoration. Try using just a verse or two of today’s reading in your own prayer.f
Closing prayer
Great and Holy One, forgive my stumbling praise and worship. Enlarge my view of You and loose my tongue so that I may be last in wonder, love and praise.
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