PT-2 "The Redeemer" from Eph. 1:6b

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/7/2018 9:37 AM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  PT-2 “The Redeemer”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 1:6b

            Message of the verse:  “which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

            We have mentioned that the Father wants us to have everything that the Son has because of His love for us.  I realize that this is difficult for us to totally understand, but that is where faith comes in.  Once a person is born-again he still has the old nature or the flesh in him and even though the Spirit of God no lives within them they still have a propensity to sin and when they sin then they feel bad, and so have a hard time understanding the great love that the Father has for them, and yet the Father sees all believers through the eyes of His Son since He died for them.  Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3 that He “has blessed us with every spiritual blessin in the heavenly places in Christ.  MacArthur adds “Every Christian is God’s beloved child because the Lord Jesus Christ has become our Redeemer.”

            The concept of the kinsman-redeemer is found in the Old Testament and it sets forth three qualifications: He had to be related to the one needing redemption, which makes him able to pay the price and also willing to pay the price.  As we look at the Lord Jesus Christ we see that He perfectly met these requirements.  In his commentary on this subject John MacArthur quotes a poet who expressed the magnificent reality of redemption in the following words:

“Near, so very near to God,

Nearer I could not be;

For in the person of His Son,

I’m just as near as He.

Dear, so very dear to God,

Dearer I could not be;

For in the person of His Son,

I’m just as dear as He.”

            One of the many reasons that I read John MacArthur’s commentaries is that many times he explains the Greek words that help me to understand the different passages much better.  He writes the following concerning the word “freely bestowed:” “Charitoo (freely bestowed) is from charis (grace, v. 6a), and therefore Paul is saying that God has graced us with His grace.  Christians are those who have been graced by God.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to live my life in a way where I realize that Christ has redeemed me from the slave market of sin.  I desire also to understand better that I have been graced by God.  I also want to mention the beautiful story found in the book of Ruth where the picture of the kinsman-redeemer is perfectly illustrated through the story of Boas redeeming Ruth, then marrying her having the grandparent of David who intern through his sons the Messiah, Jesus Christ was born.  Both Solomon and Nathan were a part of the a part of the birth line of Jesus Christ, Nathan brought forth in his line Mary and Solomon Joseph.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to trust the Lord that the herbs that I am not taking will take care of the problem that I have been experiencing with my “guts” will help me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “second John.”

Today’s Bible question:  “In Pharaoh’s dream what did the seven thin cattle represent?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/7/2018 10:02 AM