Thursday – September 22, 2016
Greetings and blessings from Eastern Gate Ministries International and The Three Minute Word publications. God
is so good, far beyond good. This has been an exciting week thus far in our study of Ephesians so let’s dive back in and see what the Lord has for us today.
Ephesians 1:11-12 (KJV)
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
I don’t know about you but the phraseology of verse twelve above is somewhat awkward. Also, some translations of the Bible translate the word ‘Christ’ as Messiah. So, let’s take a look at this verse in the Amplified translation.
Ephesians 1:12 (AMP)
12 So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!
You have probably noticed that the word ‘trust’ in the King James Version is “hoped” in the Amplified version. As you may realize these words are generally interchangeable. Let’s take a look at what many consider a cornerstone verse concerning faith.
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
As we look at this let’s go ahead and substitute ‘trusted’ for ‘hoped’. Remember Bible hope is a future event, a promise of God, that is certain when faith, love, and hope (trust) are applied as led of the Holy Spirit. I will now paraphrase Hebrews 11:1 as follows; Our belief in the Word of God is the foundation for the things or words we trust Him to perform, our belief (faith) is the observable evidence of the as yet unseen but certain or sure thing. Abraham believed the Word of God concerning a son of promise, Isaac, and Abraham spoke those words, and Isaac was. Prophets of old believed the Word of God they heard, they spoke those words and another Son of promise, Jesus, was.
The other thing I want to remind us all of concerning the use of the word ‘Christ’ is that it can and frequently does not only refer to the Messiah but to the Anointed One, and the Holy Spirit. We tend to think that we are trusting or accepting Jesus as Lord but whether we understood it at the time or not we were also trusting the Holy Spirit to quicken our dead spirit causing us to once again be a living soul and to translate us into the Kingdom of God and in the end to change this corruption to incorruption (our bodies). One might say that Jesus is the way to the whole shooting match.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 (KJV)
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
There is one God and one man between God (the Father) and men and that is Christ Jesus (both God and man). Jesus is the Christ, He is the Messiah, He is the Anointed One, and He is the One who was necessary to bring the Blessing, the Holy Spirit, back into fellowship with all peoples who name Jesus as Lord. Now let’s get back to our text.
Ephesians 1:12 (KJV)
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Ephesians 1:12 (AMP)
12 So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!
As a teaching point let me point out the bracketed [] material in the Amplified version of our text above. In the Amplified version of the Bible those words which are in brackets are not supported by the manuscripts and are added by the translators for clarity. So let’s examine the text added between the brackets. The latter part of the phrase reads: “have been destined and appointed to”. The word destined has the implication that it will happen no matter what which nullifies free-will and therefore is not consistent with the purpose and will of God. The word appointed on the other hand means to be chosen or selected which leaves the person with choice and therefore consistent with the purpose and will of God. Our text goes on to say that we are to be the praise of His glory or His goodness. To praise is to declare or affirm what or who someone is and thereby we loose them to be that in our lives. For example when we call Jesus savior He becomes and is our Savior but we have to acknowledge Him as such. Of course, our subsequent thoughts, words, and actions act like a rheostat to the extent of that salvation. Getting out of Hell and into Heaven of course is an essential step and for many they do not push further into the complete rescue available with salvation, it is His salvation. Meditate the following verse of praise and then apply it.
Psalm 18:2 (KJV)
2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
I declare that God is my LORD, He is my rock, He is my fortress, He is my deliverer from trouble, He is my God (nothing before Him), I depend on Him for my strength, I trust Him implicitly, He is my hedge, my shield, the power of my salvation, and He is my high tower (I am seated with Him in Heaven even now).
Amen and Selah.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
