I really love how Paul starts his letter to the Christians in Ephesus. Before he gets into the instructions of how they are to be living in Christ, he spends some time reminding them of the amazing salvation that God has given to us. In Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul wrote about God’s plan to save, His power to save, and the praise He deserves because He saved.
Paul reminds us that our salvation was the plan of God from the beginning. He does that by saying the following: chose us before the foundation of the world, predestined, purpose, His will, His will, purpose, set forth His plan, predestined, purpose, and counsel of His will. I think that Paul was trying to emphasize the Plan of God. Don’t you?
Paul reminds us that it is by the power of God that we are saved. God’s power is seen in that He: blessed us in Christ, adopted us, blessed us in the Beloved, redeemed us through His blood, forgave us of our sins, is rich in grace which He lavished upon us, united all things in Him, has given us an inheritance, has given us hope, has given us the word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation, has given us something to believe, has sealed us with the promised Holy Spirit. The power of God is awesome. He has taken our sins away. He has given us hope. He has saved us by His power because we could not save ourselves.
Paul reminds us that God is greatly to be praised for the salvation He has given us. He said: blessed be God the Father, the praise of His glorious grace, the praise of His glory, and again the praise of His glory. God is worthy of all thanksgiving, worship, praise, glory, love, etc. Praise God!
A quick way to keep this in mind about our salvation is God’s Plan, Power, and Praise. Take this with you. Remember how much God loves us. Remember He has saved us. Remember to praise Him every day!
A Cord of Blue 