You Can Know You Have Eternal Life
#730
The In Him Blessings Revealed (2)
by Jim Mettenbrink
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Last week we began considering
the apostle Pauls opening in his letter to the Ephesians,
Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)? The
key to these blessings is to be in Christ? And what are
these blessings, which are all part of the mystery revealed in
Jesus and subsequently to us in the New Testament?
Paul continued, In Him we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of His grace
(Ephesians 1:7)? In sum, forgiveness of sins is
a blessing in Christ? Forgiveness is pardon, meaning once
pardon is granted, it is as if sins were not committed in the
first place.
If I go to prison, it is to pay
the penalty of a crime? When released, the stain of my
crime is still on record? Governors and presidents often
grant pardons for crimes committed, meaning
there is no record of that person having paid the penalty or
having the stain of sin? It is just-as-if-I never committed
the crime? No crime on my record! Innocent!
Forgiveness is the first and primary
in Him blessing, by which all other spiritual blessings
follow? Why? Sin breaks the fellowship between a
person and God? Recall this was emphasized in the Mosaic
Covenant in the tabernacle, which had two parts? The first
was where the priests served? The inner part (the Most
holy place) was Gods dwelling on earth among the Israelites?
No one could enter therein because God could have no fellowship
with sin, nor sinners? All of the law, all of it, commands
a person separate himself from sin.
That a person sinned once, brought
an irreconcilable dilemma? Only the high priest could enter
the Gods dwelling, and then only one day a year to offer
the blood of the animal sacrifice for the unwitting sins of the
nation? But no forgiveness, only a roll back for a year?
The in
Him forgiveness
resulting from Jesus shed blood on the cross is granted to each
person who will submit to the New Testament (covenant) given
by Jesus? To be forgiven with a clean record is just-as-if-I
had never sinned. Justified! Paul wrote,
for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus (Romans
3:23, 24)? Forgiveness, thus justification, is an in Him blessing.
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