4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:4-6
Paul speaks here of the “ones” of the Christian faith. They are…
**One Body
**One Spirit
**One Hope
**One Lord
**One Faith
**One Baptism
**One Father
There are not many ways to heaven. Only one way leads to paradise. Jesus is the way. Christ is the one way. Christ is the only way.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7
Paul teaches the wonder of adoption in this passage. As Believers, we have been “adopted” into His family. He is our Heavenly Father and we are His adopted sons and daughters.
A few thoughts about adoption are in order today. First, adoption proceeds from redemption. Human beings are born into the slavery of sin. Sin rules us, controls us, and dominates us. We may be able to keep it at bay for a time, but, we can never conquer sin in our strength.
Christ redeems us from the curse of sin by taking the curse upon Himself. He paid the price for us so that we could be free and receive this adoption. Having been forgiven and restored to God through Christ Jesus, we are now a part of His family forever. Nothing can separate us from our Heavenly Father. Nothing.
Jesus is the cause of adoption. We would be an eternally lost cause without Christ. We have eternal life and the rights of son-ship because of the Savior. What a mighty God we serve!
Ultimately, we are free through this adoption that God grants to us. We are no longer a slave to sin, self, the world, or the devil. Instead, we have been set free to love God, love others, and serve Him all of our days.
Christians have been adopted into God’s eternal family. We are set free from the past and able to serve Him for the rest of our lives. And it’s all because of Jesus.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Matthew 7:21-23
Jesus words in this passage of Scripture are haunting. Not everyone who makes a verbal profession shall enter the kingdom. True conversion will lead to not only right words but right deeds.
It is important to know the right things and doctrinal truths concerning Jesus. It is helpful to know about what Jesus’ taught and claimed. But that in itself is not enough.
True salvation occurs when we believe in Him. Conversion requires trusting Christ and Christ alone by faith. This type of faith will lead to doing the “will of my Father in heaven.”
Have you turned from your sin to Christ alone? Are you trusting Christ as your Savior? Is there any evidence of your salvation? Are you desires Godly and biblical? The answers to these questions will determine where you spend eternity.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
James 1:17
Dear Christian, we are blessed. We are abundantly blessed. It doesn’t always seem to be the case. But, we are blessed beyond measure. In no particular order, consider these blessings today…….
God has saved us.
God sustains us.
God secures us forever.
We are blessed with food.
We are blessed with clothing.
We are blessed with shelter.
We are blessed with finances.
We are blessed with family and friends.
We are blessed by the Church.
We are blessed with the sustaining power of Jesus.
We are blessed with the Holy Spirit’s presence at all times.
We are blessed with eternal life.
These are but a few of the blessings and gifts that God has given us. We may not have everything we want, but, we have more than enough. Dear Christian, you are blessed!
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.Matthew 6:28-32God provides for us bountifully. He clothes the flowers as He clothed Solomon. He dresses the grass of the fields and He will provide for us in the same way. Jesus’ words reverberate throughout this passage once again. Don’t worry about what to eat, what to drink, or what to wear. Why? Our heavenly father knows what we need even before we ask it. He knows what we need and He will provide.We can trust the Lord. We can believe the Lord. And we can serve Him knowing all that we need, we will have. Tony French
mrtonyfrench 