Ephesians 1:11-14
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:18-23
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,19 and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength,20 which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.22 And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church,23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 2:6-7
God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 2:10
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:13
In Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
· When God and man are spoken of as working together, there is nothing of the idea of a partnership between two partners who each contribute their share to a work. The relation is a very different one. The true idea is that of cooperation founded on subordination.
· The believer can do nothing of himself. What he can do of himself is altogether sinful. He must therefore cease entirely from his own doing and wait for the working of God in him.
· Just in proportion as he yields himself a truly passive instrument in the hand of God, will he be wielded of God as the active instrument of His almighty power.
· One of the first secrets will be the deeper insight into the truth, that as you sink low before Him in nothingness and helplessness, in a silence and a stillness of soul that seeks to catch the faintest whisper of His love, teachings will come to you which you had never heard before for the rush and noise of your own thoughts and efforts. You shall learn how your great work is to listen, and hear, and believe what He promises, to watch and wait and see what He does, and then, in faith, and worship, and obedience, to yield yourself to His working who works in you mightily.
· How slow many are to learn that quietness is blessedness, that quietness is strength, that quietness is the source of the highest activity—the secret of all true abiding in Christ!
· Abide in Christ! Let no one think that he can do this if he has not daily his quiet time, his seasons of meditation and waiting on God. In these a habit of soul must be cultivated in which the believer goes out into the world and its distractions with the peace of God, that passeth all understanding, keeping the heart and mind. It is in such a calm and restful soul that the life of faith can strike deep root, that the Holy Spirit can give His blessed teaching, and that the Holy Father can accomplish His glorious work.
· Abide in Christ! This is indeed the Father’s object in sending the trial. In the storm the tree strikes deeper roots in the soil; in the hurricane the inhabitants of the house abide within and rejoice in its shelter. So by suffering the Father would lead us to enter more deeply into the love of Christ.
· When we have found our rest in Christ in time of trouble, we shall learn to choose abiding in Him as our only portion and, when the affliction is removed, have so grown more firmly into Him, that in prosperity He still shall be our only joy. So much has He set His heart on this, that though He has indeed no pleasure in afflicting us, He will not keep back even the most painful chastisement if He can but thereby guide His beloved child to come home and abide in the beloved Son.
· Dear Christian, in affliction abide in Christ. When you see it coming, meet it in Christ; when it is come, feel that you are more in Christ than in it, for He is nearer you than affliction ever can be; when it is passing, still abide in Him.
· Be much with Him alone. Beware of the comfort and the distractions that friends so often bring. Let Jesus Christ Himself be your chief companion and comforter.
· Abiding in Jesus, you come into contact with His infinite love; its fire begins to burn within your heart; you see the beauty of love; you learn to look upon loving and serving and saving your fellow-men as the highest privilege a disciple of Jesus can have.
· The great secret of abiding in Christ is the deep conviction that we are nothing, and He is everything. As this is learnt, it no longer seems strange to believe that our weakness need be no hindrance to His saving power.