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The Basis of Spiritual Blessing in Messiah
1: 4-14

The unconditional love and acceptance of ADONAI is the basis for each and every blessing we experience as the children of God. There are no illegitimate children of God; none of us were unwanted or unexpected accidents. For in Messiah He chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in His presence (1:4). Peter confirms this truth when he says: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10). We are not castoffs in an orphanage acting on our best behavior so someone might finally adopt us. Titus 3:4-5 tells us: But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Deliverer was revealed, He delivered us. It was not on the grounds of any righteous deeds we had done, but on the grounds of His own mercy. He did it by means of the mikveh of rebirth and the renewal brought about by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Where once we had not received mercy, now we have mercy. So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s family (Eph 2:19).56 As you read Ephesians 1:4-14, notice each time the phrase “in Messiah” occurs. What is the significance of being “in Messiah?”