My Salvation is Secure: Thoughts on Ephesians 1

These are very quick jotted-down thoughts on Ephesians 1, which convince me of the security of my salvation and help me stand up tall in Christ's merits even on days when I fail, or am tired, or generally just feel unworthy of any right standing before God. 



1 /  Trinitarian Aspect
Ephesians 1 brings across the beautiful Trinitarian aspect of salvation: ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (v.3) … When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory (v.14).’ This emphasises that salvation was both divinely planned and also entirely divinely executed. God carried out the roles of Judge, Advocate, and Counsel, yet also the Lamb who paid the penalty; it was entirely done by God the Trinity, requiring nothing of us but to simply receive what had already been done. Our salvation is secured by God, and nothing from us is required.

2 / Chosen
The security of our salvation is even more certain in light of the fact that we were chosen to be ‘holy and blameless in His right … in accordance with His pleasure and will’ (v.4–5). We weren’t chosen because we were holy and blameless, or even because we had some innate potential to be holy and blameless (which can’t have been, because this choosing was done ‘before the creation of the world’). In fact, far from having any merit in us, we were ‘dead in [our] transgressions and sins’ (2:1). Instead, we were chosen entirely by grace, and because God has made His covenant graciously with us, we cannot be un-chosen. Our salvation is secure, in accordance with God’s pleasure and will, regardless of our weakness.

3 / Established relationship
Salvation involves the establishing of a novel relationship—sonship through Christ. Salvation is not like a one-off gift to a stranger. It is a grafting in to God’s family for life. So the gift of life that I receive is on the basis of inheritance (a iusta causa). It is drastically different from, for example, a passerby tossing a penny into a homeless person’s cap, leaving and never seeing them ever again. God has not given the gift of salvation and left. He has made us a part of His family through Christ, and our gift of life comes as part of that unimaginably marvelous and secure package.

4 / A goal beyond my self
The goal of salvation is the ‘praise of His glory’ (v.6, 12, 14)—none of my own glory. This gives salvation a beautiful and high direction that goes beyond myself. So I know that this whole thing that I am a part of points to glory outside myself, and isn’t an individual affair for me. This means that even on days when I just feel really low, like my faith is parched, I can press on to delight in salvation because it is for the praise of God’s glory. No matter how I feel today, glorious or just really despairing at myself (e.g. looking in the mirror and convinced of my own unworthiness), I can press on to say salvation is beautiful and has been accomplished, to the praise of God’s glory and not my own.

5 / Marked with a seal
We have a future hope: the redemption; the consummation of our union with Christ (v.14). So even when I’m groaning at my own sinfulness or reeling from my failures and ineffectiveness in ministry, I know that this is not it. This is not all there is to salvation. Far more is to come: ‘the redemption of those who are God’s possession’. He will secure His arms around us, closer than He’s ever been before, and we will safely belong to Him for ever. ‘And I know He will deliver safely to the golden shore.’ (Christ is Mine Forevermore)  

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