"I pray that . . . you may know . . . what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18).

How you perceive your spiritual resources dictates how you live.

Throughout Ephesians 1 Paul is clearly struck with the magnificence of our inheritance in Christ. Here he prays that we will know the riches of its glory.

Some commentators see "His inheritance" as a reference to believers, who are God's inheritance or special possession (v. 14). That view stresses the value God places on us as believers, as demonstrated in Christ's death, the forgiveness of our sins, and the abundant grace that He lavishes on us (vv. 7-8).

Others see it as referring to the believer's inheritance, which Paul calls "His inheritance" because God is its source. Just as "His calling" (v. 18) issued from Him and was received by believers, so His inheritance issues from Him.

Both views are theologically sound but the second seems more consistent with Paul's emphasis in verses 11 and 14. In either case Paul's point is clear: redemption and its accompanying blessings are so profound that we must have supernatural help to understand them. That's why he prayed for our enlightenment (v. 18).

Such enlightenment is crucial because how you perceive your spiritual resources dictates how you live. If, for example, you realize you have every resource for godly living (Eph. 1:3), you are less likely to succumb to temptation. Knowing God has given you His very best in Christ (Rom. 8:31) assures you that He won't withhold lesser things, so you'll not tend to worry about earthly needs. Understanding that you have already received "grace upon grace" (John 1:16), abundant life (John 10:10), and "everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3) gives you confidence that God's future grace and resources will be more than sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).

Let that motivate you to praise your rich and glorious God for His rich and glorious inheritance!

Suggestions for Prayer

• Thank God for the privilege of being His child.
• Memorize Ephesians 1:3 and 2 Peter 1:3 and recite them often as anthems of praise for the Lord's abundant grace.

For Further Study

Read 2 Corinthians 11-12.

• What kinds of trials did Paul face?
• How did God respond to Paul's prayer to remove his "thorn in the flesh"?
• How might Paul's response influence you when you face difficulties?

“Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

The key to peace in the church is selfless love.

People often delude themselves that there is peace when there is no real peace (Jer. 8:11). However, we can show the world that Jesus is the true peacemaker if we have a community of peaceful, loving, united believers. Others will realize then that Christ must be sent from God, because only God can make true, lasting peace.

“The bond of peace” is what holds our unity together. The Greek word translated “bond” refers to a belt. It pictures the Body of Christ being wrapped with the belt of peace, a peace that is born of love.

Our bond of peace is vital to our testimony. As Christians, we have “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1) and “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18), the privilege of telling others how they may have peace with God. If we don’t have peace among ourselves, why would unbelievers look to us to find peace with God?

The Corinthian church teaches us how not to have peace. Members would have a “love feast,” followed by Communion. Apparently, though, those who brought food gorged themselves and became drunk, leaving the poorer believers to go hungry (1 Cor. 11:17-22). Those gluttons not only dishonored the Lord but also hurt their fellow believers, causing resentment and conflict.

During their worship services, everyone wanted attention. Paul laments, “Each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation” (1 Cor. 14:26)—and they all wanted to speak at once. They weren’t interested in building up each other, only in being heard. The result was a loud, confusing mess.

The Corinthians’ disharmony was evident in different ways, but the root cause was the same: selfishness.

So where does peace come from? Selflessness, the primary characteristic of Christian love. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.” We must humble ourselves and focus on the needs of others. When that happens, there will be harmony and unity.

Suggestions for Prayer

Confess any selfishness, and ask God to help you grow in selfless love.

For Further Study

What does Romans 8:6 equate peace with? Memorize this verse during the next few days.

Reading for Today:

• Exodus 1:1–2:25
• Psalm 15:1-5
• Proverbs 4:25-27
• Matthew 17:1-27

Notes:

Exodus 1:7 The growth of the nation (see 12:37) was phenomenal! It grew from 70 men to 603,000 males, 20 years of age and older, thus allowing for a total population of about 2 million (Num. 1:46) departing from Egypt. The seed of Abraham was no longer an extended family, but a nation. The promise that his descendants would be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 35:11, 12) had indeed been fulfilled in Egypt.

Exodus 2:10 became her son. The position of “son” undoubtedly granted Moses special privileges belonging to nobility, but none of these persuaded Moses to relinquish his native origin. Rather, as the New Testament advises, his spiritual maturity was such that when he came of age, he “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Heb. 11:24). The formal education in the court of that time meant that Moses would have learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and perhaps one or more of the languages of Canaan. He would also have participated in various outdoor sports, e.g., archery and horseback riding, two favorites of the Eighteenth Dynasty court.

Psalm 15:5 usury. Interest rates ran as high as 50 percent, but God’s law put strict regulations on borrowing and lending. He…shall never be moved. This is an important promise in the light of its usage in Psalms and Proverbs (see Pss. 10:6; 13:4; 16:8; 46:5; 62:2,6; Prov. 10:30).

Matthew 17:3 Moses and Elijah. Representing the Law and the Prophets respectively, both of which had foretold Christ’s death, and that is what Luke says the 3 of them were discussing (Luke 9:31).

DAY 26: How is genuine faith different from positive-thinking psychology?

Jesus’ disappointment with His disciples’ inability to cast the demon out of the epileptic boy is readily felt in the words, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?” (Matt. 17:17).

Later, in privacy the disciples asked Jesus, “Why could we not cast it out?” (v. 19). When Christ sent the disciples out (Matt. 10:6–8), He explicitly commissioned them to do these kinds of miracles. Less than a year later, they failed where they had once succeeded. Christ’s explanation for their failure was that their faith was deficient (v. 20). The deficiency did not consist in a lack of confidence; they were surprised that they could not cast out this demon. The problem probably lay in a failure to make God—rather than their own gifts—the object of their confidence.

True faith, even “faith as a mustard seed” (v. 20), by Christ’s definition, always involves surrender to the will of God. What He was teaching here is nothing like positive-thinking psychology. He was saying that both the source and the object of all genuine faith—even the weak, mustard seed variety—is God. And “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Here, Christ assumes the qualifying thought that is explicitly added by 1 John 5:14: what we ask for must be “according to His will.”

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written . . . it is written . . . it is written . . .’” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).

The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed our supreme example for how to resist temptation. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us, “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (cf. 2:18). Our responsibility is to consider the many ways He was tempted, look to Him, and follow His example in turning away from sin.

Jesus met the worst temptations Satan could hurl at Him, and He emerged victorious. Now He is ready to share the joy of victory with all His saints: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

The key to our triumph over temptation is to resist it the way Jesus did, by completely obeying God and His Word. Just as in every aspect of the Christian life, we will have success in resisting temptation by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Heb. 12:2). Like the hurdler who learns to keep his eyes on the finish line as he runs, thereby not tripping over any individual hurdle, so we must keep our eyes on the ultimate goal—being with our glorious Lord and Savior forever in heaven.

Ask Yourself

God’s Word is such that the more time we spend in it, the more it sinks into us—into our hearts, into our thoughts, into our impulses, reactions, and conversations. Are you mining daily from this treasure? Make sure Satan has to climb over a lot of Scripture to get to you.