Tonight I just finished reading a theological magazine that I receive every other month. I enjoy reading the magazine to learn as well as understand more about the views of other Christians. As I read the magazine I noted how easy it was for the various contributors to make many profound points as well as promote the theological jargon from a particular camp without explaining or teaching the Christian Scripture. I found myself intellectually roused and ready to debate these authors with my own hard won opinions. But here is a trap that I have fallen into before. Will I (or you) as a minister of the gospel use the privilege to speak to others to advance a personal or club distinction or instead to make clear to others the encouragement and exhortations from God's Word? God help us to do the latter. Thus postured, I begin a new monthly Zingers column in which we will, in a short paragraph or three, highlight one verse or sentence from the Christian Scripture.

Please consider a grammatical dissecting of Ephesians 1:3-4 (NIV) in order to learn some down right neat facts. Please follow along. What is the noun or verb? "Blessed be." OK, blessed be who? "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Wow...so God is the God and Father of Jesus? Yes. And more wow...Jesus is also our Lord? Yes, it says "our Lord." Read on grammar man. What can you tell me about this God and Father of Jesus? It says "Who has blessed us." Cool! God be blessed caused he has blessed us. How has he blessed us? "With every spiritual blessing." Now you are talking dude. By breaking apart these grammar clause-a-ma-thingies a picture is starting to take shape. BLESSED be God who has BLESSED us with every spiritual BLESSING. Wowzer...(or blessing)...which ever exclamation fits your generation gap.

 

Now back to it. Tell me about these blessings. Not only do you have EVERY spiritual blessing, these blessings are "in the heavenly places in Christ." Now that one is getting a little too tough to believe. Sometimes life and the future prospects seem dim or even black, hardly heavenly. Well?? OK I know we have very serious battles to face, but God's word says what it says. You are radically blessed. How radical? "Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." Whoa boy?! Just how could God choose us before he even made us? Well the verse doesn't explain that, but the verse does say he did.

 

So you may want to consider looking at your life from the view point that God knew about you from before day one. So if you think that there is something you are hiding from God...ah, well...it may be tough for you to swallow...but...ah....he knows. Well he is God after all then. So God chose us. What did he choose us for? God chose us "that we would be holy and without blemish before him." Whoa..Wowzer..and Shazam. You mean that we are forever sinless to Holy God from BEFORE day one in spite of all the sin we have committed SINCE day one. You got it. How could he even do that?

 

Well we are just looking at one verse here. Be sure to read the remaining context to learn how God did this "in Christ" and through the "blood of Christ." God's love for us came at the highest price of the death of his only Son. Though you may want to take a break before reading about it ...if you get more excited your exclamations may simply turn to shouting praise!