The You God Sees 8.

“In Him – Christ – you also, who have heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1: 13 & 14)

You, if you “believe in Him – Christ,” have been occupied by the Holy Spirit. The “Spirit,” who “brooded” over the “abyss” as described in Genesis 1, is in you. A Christ-follower you have, in you, the same Spirit who descended and stayed with Jesus from his baptism to His resurrection and beyond. The “Spirit of Him who raised our Lord from the dead,” inhabits you. This Divine presence is, Paul says, a “guarantee” of something.

This is “legal jargon.” When you purchase something of value you’re generally required to make a “down payment.” Our Father, - “the one in the Heavens all around us” – has put a little different spin on it. He considers us, who are believers, His Children; His heirs; just as Jesus is. The gift of the Holy Spirit is His down payment guaranteeing that there will be an inheritance. This is remarkable! By simple faith in Jesus we become part of His Family. There’s no way we can kid ourselves into believing this is our right. We rejected God as Supreme in our lives every time we decided to do things our way instead of His. Still, His “Grace” alone, offered in Christ, gives us back full status as Children and the return of the Spirit into our lives. This is not business as usual. In the case of ordinary transactions the “down payment,” is the buyer’s assurance that he has the resources to complete the transaction when final payment is required. This transaction is the person – God the one who has what we need – giving us what He has for us before we even pay a cent; a taste, if you like, in advance. Isn’t it just like our Father to take the initiative like this?

So what is the “inheritance?” Jesus told His followers, “God has seen fit to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12: 32) It is the “Kingdom of the Heavens around us;” the “Kingdom of God;” which is the “Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ;” “all things brought together under one Head,” – Christ. This is our, “the Church’s inheritance.” Every aspect of life in and with the Holy Spirit, now, is an “up close and personal” experience of life in Christ’s Kingdom then. “Walk with me, work with me,” Jesus urged. “Learn the unforced rhythms of Grace.” (Matthew 11: 29 & 30 THE MESSAGE)

With the Spirit; inhabited by Him, you have the privilege of
experiencing, “substantially now,” what this walk will be like, “ultimately then.” The “love,” you experience and live each day of your life with the Spirit is a touch of the love that will wash over you wave after wave when you stand face-to-face with our Lord. The “Joy” you have in fellowship with the Spirit will give you a craving for that “fullness of Joy” Christ promised; festivity after festivity; celebrations without end. The “peace that is beyond our ability to understand,” which the Spirit brings to us now, will be our experience then to such degrees that our stability is eternal. Unhurried, kind, good, gentle, reliable, stable; all qualities the Spirit is cultivating in us now, will be perfected then. And the more we experience them in limited degrees here, now, the more compelling our ambition to be, then, such people, in the ways our Lord is. And so we will be! The Spirit’s presence guarantees it!

The You God Sees 7.

“… we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:12)

Is your hope in Christ?

If it is you are a person of destiny. You have been appointed to a specific, magnificent position. God has commissioned you to “live for the praise of His glory.”

Think about this. We, ordinary, everyday folks inspiring praise for the glorious God dramatically revealed in Christ. Wouldn’t you think He’s inspired considerable praise on His own?

It gets more amazing. The original Greek word for “glory” actually means “reputation.” God has, long ago, determined to stake His reputation on His human creatures. And beginning with the first Christ-followers He appointed all believers to this mission.

This is an advertising campaign of dubious potential. We’ve already gotten our Creator very bad press. The third Chapter of Genesis is a laundry list of things gone wrong. All because we dishonored God and made Him look the fool for having made us.

But He’s sticking to the plan. As a matter-of-fact our “fall” is part of the plan. Earlier – vs. 6 – Paul says that our “destiny” is “to be for the praise of His ‘glorious Grace.’” God’s Grace is His love in action and we are the “billboard” on which it is to be dramatically displayed.

Jesus said something that clarifies how we can actually “make God look good.” “Let your light shine before men,” He said, “so that you give light to the whole world; they see the good things you do; and praise your Father in Heaven.” The “things you do,” are your light. When people see it, He says, they “praise your Father in Heaven.” This means that the “goodness” people see in you is readily recognized as God’s and not yours. We’re a lot like the moon. In its fullest phase it appears glorious. But we all know that it has no light of its own. It is reflecting another light. We Children of Adam and Eve, by our own choice, “live in darkness.” But “all of us, who are Christ's reflect, like mirrors, the glory of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

To complete this mission, and realize our destiny, as the promoters of God's reputation, we must be sure that our attention is fixed on the “SON”! His reflection is the "you God sees" ... the "you" with whom He's pleased.