“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”
—Ephesians 1:11-12
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! But every believer is also called to respond to the blessings of God with thankful obedience. So, delight and duty are the believer’s only proper response to every blessing of God.
THE FIRST thing the Apostle Paul tells us in vs. 11 is that “In Him we have obtained an inheritance.” The words “In Him” refer to Christ as we see from the context in verse 10, “that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” Paul is saying that all the blessings 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 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 says, “we have obtained an inheritance” are those “in Christ.” And this is a theme that Paul refers to 12 times in his letter 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 Christ by true faith, which the Holy Spirit has worked in you. Jesus describes this spiritual union by using the metaphor of vine and branches in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” And you are not “in Christ” because of something you do. “We have obtained an inheritance” is a passive voice in the Greek text, which means God is the Giver and we are simply receivers.
BEING A MEMBER of the visible church doesn’t necessarily mean you are “in Christ.” How then do you know if you are 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 on the cross for your sins and that He imputed His righteousness to you and that you have no righteousness of yourself? You couldn’t truly believe these things unless the Holy Spirit has worked true faith in your heart (1 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:7). Therefore, everyone who truly trusts Christ has been united to Christ and is in Him and is an heir of everlasting life simply and solely because of the Law-abiding life and sin-atoning death of Jesus Christ, who merited salvation for all who were given to Him by His Father (John 6:39).
Friday Devotional: April 5, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry