Grace, Blood, & Glory

Ephesians 1:5–7

He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

Ephesians 1:5-7

The apostle Paul richly articulates the unfathomable depth and glory of God’s redemptive story, lovingly ordained in eternity past, cascading into the brokenness of history with blood and beauty. Above all, Paul desires for his hearers to know the unshakable security they possess in Christ, for what has been accomplished on their behalf is all from, by, through, to, and for Him. Because of the Father’s love, only by grace, through Christ’s precious blood, and solely for His glory, you have been irrevocably chosen and redeemed. In Christ, we are now children of the living God, blood-bought sons and daughters of the King. This is our primary and permanent identity. Though we hear this truth often, does it define the way we think of ourselves? Does it inform our gratitude to the Lord? Does it pervade the way we think of and interact with one another? May we never grow weary of asking these questions.

Regarding adoption, the Westminster Shorter Catechism reads: “Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges, of the sons of God” (WSC 34). In Christ, we are full-status family members of the living God— “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). Further, “God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind” (Numbers 23:19). In this vein, the apostle Paul asserts: “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). We are utterly secure in Christ. And that beautiful, glorious reality was brought about by God, according to His will, before the dawn of time, that the love and life of Christ might dawn in our hearts, “to the praise of His glorious grace” and to His utter delight.

And yet we still doubt. Don’t we? We still doubt the Lord’s goodness. Though we are inextricably bound to Christ, we still question, and fear, and worship with all too frequently divided hearts. We fall prey to condemning thoughts, assaulted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Praise God that He has revealed His character and our security in Christ so clearly! Though the cacophony of other voices assails us, His voice pierces the darkness and calms the storm, speaking a better word.

In Genesis, Cain’s resentment of his brother leads him into rage and then murder. In His following questioning of Cain, the Lord proclaims, “the voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). The cry of Abel’s blood was one of vengeance and rightful condemnation. Though we were as guilty as Cain, what an utterly different cry we hear from the blood of Christ. His sprinkled blood “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). Rather than condemnation, Christ’s blood speaks and sings: “Forgiven! Free!” We have been redeemed—bought back—by the most precious substance to ever mingle with the dust of earth, the precious, eternal blood of Christ. Utterly contrary to a resentful, older brother, we are continually pursued by the Hound of Heaven Himself, our Elder Brother, and through His unrelenting, deadly pursuit, we have been brought home. May we rest in Him and listen to His voice!

May the grace of our Lord and the peace purchased by His blood be with you, amen.