Daily Bible Verses for 4/30/2017

God Enlightens Us and Empowers us Through the Holy Spirit – (Ephesians 1:18-20)

Daily Verse(s)
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, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

Reading Notes
In these passages Paul is continuing his discussion on the blessings we have because of our faith in Jesus. Paul is helping us to understand that along with our salvation, we inherit many gifts as children of God and joint-heirs with Christ in the kingdom of God. Moreover, it’s only through the process of sanctification, whereby the Holy Spirit “illuminates” or deepens our understanding of scripture, in light of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. This means that we, from God’s work in our hearts and minds, and from the study of His word, grow and gain knowledge by which the “eyes of our understanding” are opened. Our eyes are opened to the great power of God for salvation, a power that restores lives lost to sin and makes us sons and daughters of God. A power which raised Jesus from the dead, a power whereby Jesus ascended back into glory to be seated at the right hand of God the Father. And a power which works in our lives and comes from a restored relationship with God the Father, through our faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ. And it’s this power, which is used by God in our lives and becomes more evident the closer we walk with Jesus. Moreover, the fact that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father is significant, and mentioned here for our edification and comfort.

Jesus being seated at the right hand of God is symbolic of His completed work at the Cross of Calvary. Through Jesus’ sacrifice for us and our faith in Him, we who were at enmity with God, and with no hope of saving ourselves, can be reconciled back to a holy God. And through faith alone, in Jesus alone, we receive the power of God in our lives, which brings restoration and a more abundant life as we live for Christ. It’s important to note that the right hand side of the king’s throne was a position of power and authority. Therefore, Jesus position at the right hand of God the Father shows us His power, His authority and His sovereignty. And the fact that He is seated shows us that His work is completed and there is nothing more we can do to add to our salvation. God in His immeasurable grace and love for us, indwells us with His Holy Spirit, so that we may have the power of God working in our lives and experience a joy that defies human understanding, making us more effective for His kingdom work. Because of our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit works in us, giving us assurance of our salvation through faith in Jesus alone. Therefore, our inheritance is the kingdom of God, because through faith we are adopted into the family of God and we become joint heirs with Christ in the kingdom of God. This means our future hope is the eternity we will spend face to face with Jesus, and our joy is to serve Him, through our submission to the daily guidance of the Holy Spirit.