The Word - Jan. 08, 2007 - (From the Archives)

"How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.

Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes." (Ephesians 1:3,4) NLT

There are those eternal truths revealed in the Word, that are beyond our ability to really comprehend. Out of the above scripture there are those truths. Today I want to talk with you about verse 4: "God chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes," To be holy is to be separated from sin and devoted to righteousness. To be

blameless is to be pure without spot or blemish,...like Jesus, the Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19)

Ephesians 1:4 is a "positional statement." Paul is describing how God views us "in Christ." He actually sees us as holy and blameless because Christ our Savior is holy and blameless. His purity is credited to our spiritual bank account.

Despite our exalted position in God's sight, our practice falls short of His holy standard. Therefore, the challenge of Christian living is to match our practice to our position.

How do you meet the challenge? By prayer, Bible study, and yielding your life to the Holy Spirit's control. May you commit yourself to those priorities today as you seek to fulfill the great purpose to which you have been called (Ephesians 2:10).