Ephesians 1: Gifts from God

From Ephesians, we can see we have the following "gifts" from God:




Justification
We are declared righteous even though we're not.




Peace with God
Without Jesus, our sins will put us at odds with God, for sin cannot be in the presence of God.




Direct access to God
Because of Jesus, we can now communicate with God on a personal level. We no longer need to communicate to God through a mediator/High Priest, because Jesus is our High Priest, and through Jesus we can be in the presence of God.




Grace
We speak often of the Grace of God. What does that mean really? Simply put, grace is unmerited blessing. When someone, say, commits a murder, this act is so cold and horrid, that in human eyes, it is an act that is unforgivable. Unforgivable here means the prisoner either gets life in prison or the death penalty. Family of the victim is very unlikely to look kindly upon the face of the murderer. BUT GOD DID.


We, the human race, put Jesus on the cross and murdered Him. Yet, instead of ruling with a vengeance, Jesus prayed for us, "Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). In facing His murderers, Jesus still looked upon us with love and asked for forgiveness! And that's exactly what God did. We have committed unforgivable sins, but God sacrificed His one and only Son, so that through Jesus, we can be forgiven. That is God's Grace.




Hope
Without God, we have no hope. When we run into troubles, we have no reason to believe that things will be better. Think about it. Look at the world today. What government isn't corrupted? Where is the hope in such a leadership if that's the only leadership we will ever get to have? Human beings are flawed, and they are easily tempted by greed for more power and money. What kind of hope can the citizens have under such fallible leaders? Any political power that rises eventually falls. There has been no exception. And so, there is no guarantee that the materialistic things that we use to define what a "good" life is will last forever. Where is the hope in that?


But, we DO have hope.


We have hope because God gives us hope. By studying the Bible, we learn that God has NEVER fallen short of His promises. Every promise He's made, it has either been fulfilled perfectly or it is still in the process of being fulfilled. As Christians, we look forward to the Thousand Year Reign of Jesus, who will rule as the King of kings. And we KNOW it will be a glorious era because Jesus rules with love for His people. If Jesus could look into the eyes of His murderers and forgive them, we can only imagine how great He would be for His people and how magnificent His Kingdom would be. And remember, Jesus was not tempted when Satan offered Him the world (Matthew 4). Jesus is not here for power or money. He is here for His people! He is a loving shepherd who wants only to loving guide and protect His flock!


And so, in Jesus, we have hope against death, hope of salvation, hope of... anything! We have an amazing God who is not limited by anything. When we fail, we can look to Him and know that He can lift us up again.




Holy Spirit
When we commit to following Jesus, our bodies become a temple that houses the Holy Spirit. And with the Holy Spirit, we are guided toward God and are able to discern good from evil.




Eternal life




God Himself!
Before Jesus, no one but the High Priest could be in the presence of God. Man could only communicate with God during one specific time per year through the High Priest. But when Jesus came and washed away our sins, He brought God into our presence. Through Jesus, we can now be in the direct presence of God.