ICS Daily Devotions
Hidden In Christ
Eph 1:3-7 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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
God has chosen to bless us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places while we are imperfect on this earth. It is the good pleasure of His will for us to be His children. He has caused us to be accepted in the Beloved — Jesus. We have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and our sins have been forgiven. Therefore, we are hidden in Christ, and that is how God sees us whenever we approach Him.
Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
This verse describes how God looks at Jesus. When Jesus was baptised, God declared that Jesus is His beloved Son, and He is well pleased with Him. Did you know that because we are hidden in Christ, this applies to us too, that God will also say we are His beloved children and He is well pleased with us despite our imperfections? That is why in Ephesians 1:4, it says, “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love”, because Christ is holy and without blame.
This is the foundation of God’s love for us, how he sees and accepts us as His children. His love for us is unconditional — it will never change no matter what we do, because we are hidden in Christ, and this is the position that God holds as our heavenly Father. Even though there will be times when He disciplines us through rebuking, correcting and training us in righteousness, we must remember that it is always based on His love for us and for our good.
Sermon Series: Father’s Day 2019
