Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, [4] just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Ephesians 1:3-4 NASB
The desire of the Father from the beginning of creation was to create a world in which to express His Holiness. Ephesians 1:3-4 says that God had chosen us in Him before the foundation of the World that we may be Holy and blameless before Him in love. God who alone is Holy, solved the problem of sin for man and re- created man in Himself as Holy. This was as a result of our rebirth in Christ. Hence, there is nothing we can do to earn this estate. Previously, we mentioned that holiness comes to you by birth and righteousness, which is a right to rule in the Kingdom, is a gift, conferred on you by a faith exercise, Romans 5:16. The gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace qualifies you to reign in the realm of life.
As a child grows to appreciate the family he was born into, he cannot be more of a son. As a son, he remains an heir, but he is only able to exercise this authority the more he knows and understands. We inherit this divine nature of holiness from the Father. The gift of righteousness is given to us to be able to express this nature of holiness and to live in victory continuously. Jesus said, in the book of John 17:14-19, that the Word of God is a sanctifying agent. It is that which makes you Holy. To be a receiver of this Word, means we can draw our life principles from the Word, seeing through the lens of the Word and judging all things through the Word. It means that when we see what is contrary to the Word in us, we should and be ready to repent. It is through this that we can sustain, maintain the power of His holiness conferred upon us.
A person may become a citizen of a place, yet depending on the level of crime, he could be restricted from society or even loose his citizenship. This is because every society has its way of cleansing itself from every threats to its culture. The Kingdom of heaven also has a way to clean up itself. God expects that anyone who has His nature has been trained to reject evil and choose good. We all came from a filthy state before being cleaned. However, there are times where due to business and moving around, filthiness comes in. Does this mean that God takes His holiness away? No. He knows our state and has made a provision for our cleansing.
1 John 1:8-9, 2:1 NASB
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
The verse shows that sin is optional. We can come to a point where there is no sin found in us at all. However, the provision for this is the Blood of Jesus. It is able to deal with conscious, unconscious and subconscious sins. A person who has the habit of cleansing by the blood in faith, would find that he is able to live free from sin. God expects a genuine hatred for sin, a repentance and using the provision, the blood of Jesus. When this does not happen, there is a disconnect in our interaction with God. This is how we maintain our holiness and avoid a soiling of our garment. Use the blood of Jesus, confess/ plead it. The life in the blood is able to deal with that which cause death, sin.
Prayer for today: God of peace, You who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus my Lord, equip me in every good thing to do Your will, work in me that which is pleasing in Your sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.[ Hebrews 13:20-21]
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