We share our opinions and insights at SBC Voices, but we believe that the Voice that matters most is the one that comes from God’s Word. We present these daily expositional devotions, beginning with a tour of Ephesians called, “Walk Worthy,” in hopes of encouraging our readers to remember to listen to the Voice above every voice.
Passage:
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ 10 as a plan for the right time—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.. Ephesians 1:7-10
Expositional Devotion:
Truth performed a song titled, “Where Your Glory Dwells.” My wife and I have the arrangement on a CD in our car, and it’s one of those songs where you just want to lift your hands in praise, maybe stick them through the sunroof. It conjures in me a sense of gratitude, amazement, and thanksgiving. The words to the chorus are, ”Where your glory dwells, I am overwhelmed as Your presence draws me near. How I love this place. I’m sheltered by Your grace. In Your house where Your glory dwells.
We come to Ephesians 4:7-10, and we see God’s glory dwelling in the blessings He has lavished upon us. We want to throw our hands in the air in praise of His glorious riches.
We have redemption through His blood. Yes, my hands go up in the air in praise of His glorious redemption. It’s His redemption that He has given to a people who were wholly unredeemable.
We have forgiveness of our sins. There goes my hand again in praise of His glorious forgiveness. Somehow, Christ has chosen to forgive my sins if I will turn to Him in faith.
These are the riches of His grace that Paul says He has lavished on us. The word lavished, Greek word perisseuo, is a great word in the New Testament in that it describes the excess or overflow of God’s blessings to us in redemption and forgiveness. He has blessed us in excess. In Malachi 3:10 God says to the Israelites, “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” We link this blessing with the giving of the tithe, but aren’t all God’s blessings excessive? Doesn’t He lavish on us with every blessing He gives? David writes in Psalm 23:5, “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” He has blessed us with redemption and forgiveness, and not only has He blessed us, but He has blessed us in excess to where our cup overflows.
It was His plan from the very beginning, to bring everything together in Christ Jesus. What a marvelous blessing that the creator of the universe who planned everything, as Paul writes, according to His good pleasure, would include us in His plan. My hands can’t reach high enough to express the amount of praise I have for God’s blessings in Christ Jesus.
I’m skipping ahead to the next section of verses, but only because that section contains the main idea that relates to this entire chapter. In verses 12 and 14, Paul writes, “To the Praise of His glory.” That’s what God’s entire plan is about, His glory. We give Him glory for our redemption. We give Him glory for our forgiveness. We give Him glory for lavishing blessings on us, and we give Him glory for bringing everything together in Christ Jesus.
When was the last time you felt your cup running over? Your cup is and always will be running over because of the riches of His glorious grace. When was the last time you felt overwhelmed by His blessings that He has lavished on you?
I was asked to speak at an ordination a couple of years ago. The young man is a friend of mine, and he gave me two minutes during his ordination sermon to give him some advice. I took the time to remind of the words Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I am overwhelmed by the love He has lavished on me, and nothing can separate me from my Lord.
