| Open Access |
Open Access
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
— Ephesians 1:5–6
Within the first few verses of Jude's short epistle, he uses an important
word twice: "beloved." In verse 1, he writes, "To those who are called,
sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ. . . . " The
word "sanctified" could better be translated "beloved." Jude begins
verse 3 with the same word. Here we have a foundational truth, which
Jude brings front and center: We are the beloved of God.
How often we hear about what we are supposed to do for God. Yet the
emphasis of the Bible is not on what we are supposed to do for God.
Rather, it is on what God has done for us. If we can get hold of that in
our minds and hearts, it will change our outlook and actions. The more
we understand of what God has done for us, the more we will want to do
for Him.
This is important, because the devil loves to keep us from praying by
telling us that we are not worthy to approach God: Do you think that God
would hear your prayers after what you have done? But the real
question to ask is this: "Is Jesus Christ worthy to come into the
presence of the Father whenever He wants?" Of course He is.
The fact is that we are made "accepted in the Beloved." Because
Christ has open access to the presence of the Father at any time, we
have the same access as we come to God the Father through our
relationship with Jesus. It is not on the basis of what we have done for
God. It is solely on the basis of what Christ has done for us.
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
— Ephesians 1:5–6
Within the first few verses of Jude's short epistle, he uses an important
word twice: "beloved." In verse 1, he writes, "To those who are called,
sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ. . . . " The
word "sanctified" could better be translated "beloved." Jude begins
verse 3 with the same word. Here we have a foundational truth, which
Jude brings front and center: We are the beloved of God.
How often we hear about what we are supposed to do for God. Yet the
emphasis of the Bible is not on what we are supposed to do for God.
Rather, it is on what God has done for us. If we can get hold of that in
our minds and hearts, it will change our outlook and actions. The more
we understand of what God has done for us, the more we will want to do
for Him.
This is important, because the devil loves to keep us from praying by
telling us that we are not worthy to approach God: Do you think that God
would hear your prayers after what you have done? But the real
question to ask is this: "Is Jesus Christ worthy to come into the
presence of the Father whenever He wants?" Of course He is.
The fact is that we are made "accepted in the Beloved." Because
Christ has open access to the presence of the Father at any time, we
have the same access as we come to God the Father through our
relationship with Jesus. It is not on the basis of what we have done for
God. It is solely on the basis of what Christ has done for us.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |