Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Ephesians 1:15-23.

 

“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

 

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.  These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”  Ephesians 1:15-23.

 

—————————- 

 

We are so man-centered, rather than God-centered, that it is difficult for us to understand “what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe“.  We need Paul’s prayer.  We need to be given “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him”.  We need the eyes of our heart to “be enlightened”.

 

We may think:  “it is all about me.”  But, it is all about Christ.  “He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”  Ephesians 1:9-10. 

 

We may want some credit or some glory based on what we have earned.  But, the glory belongs to “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory”.

 

We may hope to be able to do some good things.  But, Scripture turns our attention from our hope to “the hope of His calling”.  We may then hope that He calls us, that is, hope that God has elected us to salvation. 

 

But, even only that hope is too man-centered, the train of thought in today’s Scripture is “His calling”, “His inheritance, and “His power”.  And, the rest of today’s Scripture is all about Christ:  “the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” 

 

And so, if we do receive that “spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him”, we will be meditating on Christ, not only on what Christ has done for us.

 

We will be meditating on what God’s calling of the elect means to Christ.  Christ will do everything for “those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father;  that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death;  should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.”  Article 8 of the Canons of Dordt.    

 

We will be meditating on Christ’s inheritance in the saints:  “that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”  Ephesians 5:27.  “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”  Revelation 21:2

 

We will be meditating on God’s power to accomplish all that God wants:  God’s power is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion”.  God’s power accomplished God’s purpose which was to “put all things in subjection under His (Christ’s) feet, and gave Him (Christ) as head over all things to the church, which is His (Christ’s) body”.   

 

“Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure‘;
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.”  Isaiah 46: 9-11.

 

God accomplishes all of His good purpose and pleasure through “the surpassing greatness of His power”.  Total Perfect Triumph.