#DailyDevotion In Jesus You Are Never The Last Person Chosen
Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
We bless our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because he has blessed us. How do we bless God? This question comes up often because we do not in our regular speaking think of blessing this way. We only think about having gotten something from someone. But our liturgy helps us in this. As we close in the liturgy the pastor says, “Bless we the Lord.” and we respond with “Thanks be to God.” So to bless God our Father is to give him thanks and praise.
Now what do bless God for? We give thanks because he has blessed us with every spiritual bless in the heavenly places. Paul in the next chapter reminds us, Eph 2:7 ESV “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” In Colossians, he also writes, Col 3:1-2 ESV “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (2) Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Now often in the Old Testament, but not exclusively, these blessings are often portrayed as land, health and wealth. Indeed, we are bound to inherit a new heavens and a new earth. The streets of the New Jerusalem are paved with gold. We get new immortal bodies like Christ’s glorious body at the resurrection. Yet the Lord was the inheritance of the Levites. We now too are royal priests and we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. The Lord God and Jesus have given themselves to us. What more could we want? They pour upon us and fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee to what is to come.
On top of that we have this guarantee that he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Jesus says in John, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” If you’ve ever been the last kid at recess or gym to be chosen or maybe even were simply left out, what great comfort it is to know that the basis of our chosenness is not how great we are but rather how great Jesus is for it is in him that we were chosen. And we were chosen in him before we did anything good or bad, before we were weak or strong and before we demonstrated any innate goodness in ourselves.
And what were we chosen for? He chose us to be holy and blameless before him. Now some may take this to mean we have to get up, pull up our own bootstraps and get to making ourselves holy and blameless. Now while the Father certainly calls us to live holy and blameless lives before him know that it is Jesus who will present us holy and blameless before the Father. Paul writes, Col 1:22 ESV “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,…” And again, 1Th 5:23-24 ESV “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (24) He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
We thank you heavenly Father for choosing us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world in Christ Jesus. Ever keep us faithful to your son Jesus Christ that on the day of Christ’s he may present holy and blameless before your throne. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.