“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”
—Ephesians 1:11
EVERY BLESSING of God brings with it delight and duty. When we understand the blessing of God we delight not only in the blessing, but especially in the God who gives the blessing. Every believer is called to respond to the blessing of God with thankful obedience. Therefore, delight and duty is the believer’s only proper response to every blessing of God.
THE APOSTLE Paul tells every believer that “In Him we have obtained an inheritance.” The words “In Him” refer to Christ, and so Paul is saying that all the blessings of God apply only to those in Christ. These blessings are not generically given to everyone in the world. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). The blessings of God are given to all those and only those who trust in Jesus Christ. You see, only those who trust in Christ are “in Him.” The “we” that Paul refers to when he writes “we have obtained an inheritance” are those in Christ. This is a theme that Paul refers to 12 times in his epistle to the Ephesians. But what does it mean to be in Christ? How do I know if I am in Him?
WHEN PAUL says, “in Christ” he means “union with Christ.” To be in union with Christ means you have been personally and savingly united to Jesus Christ by true faith, which the Holy Spirit has worked in you. You are now a living, fruit-bearing branch because you are united to the life-giving vine, Jesus Christ (John 15). And you are not in Christ because of something you have done, will do, or can do; and being a member of a particular congregation doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re in Christ. So how do you know if you’re in Christ? Well, do you trust Jesus alone for the salvation of your soul? Do you believe that apart from Christ you have no hope of being reconciled to God? Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and imputed His perfect righteousness to you in order that you might receive forgiveness from God? You couldn’t truly believe these things unless the Holy Spirit has worked true faith in your heart. Therefore, everyone who truly trusts Christ has been united to Christ, and is necessarily “in Him.” “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). So I ask, once again, do you know that you are “In Him” by true faith? Trust Jesus today! Look to Him! Cry out to Him for grace and mercy because He is the only way to escape the wrath of God against sin. And if you can’t go to Christ with a believing heart then go to Christ for a believing heart! “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
Friday Devotional: November 21, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
