◄ What Does Ephesians 1:6 Mean? ►

There is probably no higher pinnacle of praise to the glorious grace of God than the first few chapters of Ephesians, and there is possibly no more staggering truth for believers than to be accepted in the Beloved: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

What astonishing truths are bound within its pages. He chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. According to His favour, He foreordained that He would adopt us through Jesus Christ for Himself. We have redemption through the blood of Christ and the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. He also made known to us the mystery of His will and has made us accepted in the Beloved.

God has not given us these things because we are worthy creatures, but to the praise of the glory of His grace. We are accepted by God simply because we trust in Jesus. It is because we are in Christ that the Father looks at you and me as if He were looking at Jesus. The moment we believed, we were baptised into Christ's Body and became a child of God and a member in His Church.

Oh! I don’t mean denominational membership, but a part of the Body of Christ. Nor do I mean the occasion when a believer is baptised with water, but the moment a soul has been placed/baptised into Christ, by faith. This truth is staggering, and we would do well to reflect on its consequences. We were born in Adam's fallen race and God saw us as dead in trespasses and sins. But the moment that we believed in Jesus and were born-again in-Christ, we were also baptised into His Body, became part of His Church, sons of God, and were accepted in the Beloved.

WOW! No matter what you have said or done, you are accepted in the Beloved. No matter what sins you have committed or will commit in the future, you are accepted in the Beloved. No matter how gross your life was you remain accepted in Him and even if you stray far from God, He still accepts you in Christ.

We may be chastened by our Heavenly Father due to sin or rebelliousness. We may lose our heavenly reward because of a careless or carnal lifestyle. We may sever our close communion with our Father in heaven and cause the sweet fellowship we enjoy to turn sour, but we can never lose our eternal salvation or sever our relationship with our Father. It is because we are accepted in His Beloved that when God looks at you He sees you as being placed in Christ and identified with His righteousness.

Some Christians suggest that God's freely bestowed grace is reserved for 'good' Christians or 'spiritual' believers, but this distorts the character of God for it implies that you have to do something to stay saved or to remain accepted in the Beloved. Some say that you can remove yourself out of His hands, while others worry that they have committed an unforgivable sin, but on both counts this would be a slur on the character of God, for it implies that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross was not sufficient to save us and keep us. But Christ's sacrifice is fully sufficient.

If you have trusted in Jesus as Saviour you are born again and accepted in Him. If you have been born from above, by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, these precious verses are written for your edification. Some Christians say that our great salvation and God's gracious acceptance of us is too easy, and encourages believers into licentious living and a careless attitude, but I suggest to you that as a believer grows and matures in the faith and starts to see the incredible, glorious grace of God and the staggering truth that is outlined in the first few chapters of Ephesians, it will open your eyes to that amazing love of the Father and compel you to glorify His holy name.

The truths that are packed into these early verses of the epistle to the Ephesians should rejoice our heart, steady our soul, dispel our doubts, and strengthen our faith, and we should thank Him continuously for our great salvation and the many precious promises that are ours in Christ. And we should rejoice: "To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved."

Heavenly Father, I just want to praise Your wonderful name for Your glorious grace toward me. You have made me accepted in Christ, and if I have all of eternity to thank You for this staggering privilege, it would not be enough. Thank You, in Jesus' name, AMEN.