“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5; NLT). Ever since I read this verse in the NLT version I have been enthralled by its implications and its meaning for me and all humanity. Prior to reading this verse, I never really thought about what gave God “great pleasure.” In fact I didn’t even think of God in those terms. Yet His own Word informs me that He does receive great pleasure from adopting His children into His family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And that’s what he wanted to do. Accomplishing this adoption and revealing the mysterious plan of Christ was a “plan to fulfill His own good pleasure” (Ephesians 1:9; NLT).
God Loved Us, Chose Us, and Adopted Us
It’s incredible to imagine, but it gave God great pleasure to do all these things . Even before he made the world, God loved you and chose you to be holy and without fault in His eyes (Ephesians 1:4). Our relationship with God is not about us, but it is about the pleasure it brings to Him. It’s time we align ourselves with God’s eternal purpose and plan, and not ours. Author and blogger Frank Viola does an amazing job introducing God’s eternal purpose in a podcast titled “Reimagining God’s Eternal Purpose.” God has also adopted us and as adopted children in his family we have all the rights of a son or daughter. We aren’t second-class children. As adopted children of God, we share with Jesus all rights to God’s resources.
God Has Redeemed Us and Forgave Us
To redeem and forgive us is part of the pleasure God receives. To be redeemed means to “purchase and set free by paying a price.” What was the price that Jesus paid? It was his precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). (Read 20 Things The Blood of Jesus Does – Frank Viola). His blood redeemed us and set us free from:
- The curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)
- Slavery to sin (Romans 6, especially verse 18)
- The power of Satan and the world (Galatians 1:4 and Colossians 1:13-14)
God “Marked Us” With A Seal
In Ephesians 1:13 the entire process of salvation is given. “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.” Every believer has the blessed Holy Spirit as a guarantee until their complete redemption. The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that you belong to Him. You are His valued possession. He isn’t going to let you go. He isn’t going to allow the thief to come in and steal, kill, and destroy.
Everything Is To The Praise Of His Glory
The reason God has chosen us and adopted us, is “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6). The reason Christ redeemed us and forgave us is so that “we should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:12). The reason we are sealed with the Spirit and he became the guarantee of our future blessing is for “the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14). It’s not about you! It’s about Him. When we realize that we will be much more content and much more powerful in our Christian walk.
Are you living and immersing yourself in all God’s spiritual riches and in His eternal purpose? Are you taking advantage of your standing with God or are you just limping along in your Christian walk? God has a wealth of spiritual blessings for you. All you have to do is live in them and know that this gives God “great pleasure.”