6.11 You are holy in Christ
(Ephesians 1:4)
…He chose us IN HIM before the foundation of the world, that we should be HOLY and without blame before Him in love…
He chose us IN HIM to be holy. We are holy not through our own performance but because we are in Him. In the Old Covenant (Ex 19:5-6), holiness was conditional upon their performance. There was a big “IF”.
(Exodus 19:5-6, NKJV)
Now therefore, IF you will indeed obey My voice and KEEP MY COVENANT, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a HOLY NATION.
But in the New Covenant, Peter declares that it is a reality. You “ARE” a holy nation. There is no “IF” anymore because Christ has fulfilled the “IF”.
(1 Peter 2:9, NKJV)
But YOU ARE a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a HOLY NATION, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…
It is not something of the future when we get to heaven. It happened 2,000 years ago when Jesus gave Himself for the church on the cross. In doing so, He sanctified her and presented her to Himself a glorious church, holy and without blemish. It is based on what He has done on the cross - His finished work.
(Ephesians 5:25-27, NKJV)
…Christ also loved the church and GAVE HIMSELF for her, that He might SANCTIFY and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be HOLY and without blemish.
I used to read the above verse as something to be attained. Quoting Watchman Nee, he says, “It is like trying to get into the room that you are already in.” Quoting my own experience, “It is like looking for pen that you are already holding in your hand.” Have you experienced that before?
Isn’t it so wonderful? Today, we are holy because we are in Christ. It was not based on our performance. If it was, none of us would have qualified. This is called grace – God’s unearned, unmerited and undeserved favor. The reason why we can proclaim His praises is because He has already made us a royal priesthood and a holy nation (1 Pet 2:9). And since Jesus lives in us, His holy attributes is manifested in our lives as fruit to holiness (Rom 6:22), or fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22)
…He chose us IN HIM before the foundation of the world, that we should be HOLY and without blame before Him in love…
He chose us IN HIM to be holy. We are holy not through our own performance but because we are in Him. In the Old Covenant (Ex 19:5-6), holiness was conditional upon their performance. There was a big “IF”.
(Exodus 19:5-6, NKJV)
Now therefore, IF you will indeed obey My voice and KEEP MY COVENANT, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a HOLY NATION.
But in the New Covenant, Peter declares that it is a reality. You “ARE” a holy nation. There is no “IF” anymore because Christ has fulfilled the “IF”.
(1 Peter 2:9, NKJV)
But YOU ARE a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a HOLY NATION, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…
It is not something of the future when we get to heaven. It happened 2,000 years ago when Jesus gave Himself for the church on the cross. In doing so, He sanctified her and presented her to Himself a glorious church, holy and without blemish. It is based on what He has done on the cross - His finished work.
(Ephesians 5:25-27, NKJV)
…Christ also loved the church and GAVE HIMSELF for her, that He might SANCTIFY and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be HOLY and without blemish.
I used to read the above verse as something to be attained. Quoting Watchman Nee, he says, “It is like trying to get into the room that you are already in.” Quoting my own experience, “It is like looking for pen that you are already holding in your hand.” Have you experienced that before?
Isn’t it so wonderful? Today, we are holy because we are in Christ. It was not based on our performance. If it was, none of us would have qualified. This is called grace – God’s unearned, unmerited and undeserved favor. The reason why we can proclaim His praises is because He has already made us a royal priesthood and a holy nation (1 Pet 2:9). And since Jesus lives in us, His holy attributes is manifested in our lives as fruit to holiness (Rom 6:22), or fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22)
posted by Joshua Lye @ 6:10 PM
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