Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Monday after the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity Sunday

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-23 (NKJV)

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 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, 4 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, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Devotion

Throughout the centuries false teachers have offered various rationales and explanations on ideas like predestination. They seek to articulate mysteries of God’s will, but they do so without remembering the whole counsel of God.

St. Paul writes about predestination and the mystery of God’s will, but he does so with the focus on Jesus Christ having all power and fullness over everything. Nothing Paul says contradicts what the rest of Scripture says about God’s will for mankind. All that he is teaching points us to faith, not our own human reasoning.

Our life and salvation in Christ is not about how well we think we understand theology. The danger of false teaching is in the fact that they are using the Lord’s name in vain to teach man’s version of wisdom. But, as Paul says, our redemption is through Christ’s blood. Our life and salvation are in the riches of God’s grace and forgiveness toward us, not in our own understanding or wisdom. If we are faithful by God’s Word and Spirit, we are part of His Body, His Church. And from that we have true righteousness and fullness in Christ Jesus!

We pray: Lord, we beseech Thee to keep Thy household, the Church, in continual godliness, that through Thy protection it may be free from all adversities and devoutly given to serve Thee in good works, to the glory of Thy name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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