Encountering JesusSample

DISCOVER

Dr. Thomas Constable says, “Ephesians reveals that the church is part of God's eternal plan, and it grows as a result of God's power working through believers' lives as they overcome their spiritual enemies.” 1 Therefore, we should live now with the knowledge of God's purposes throughout eternity clearly in view. God chose you before the creation of the world so that He could conform you to the image of His Son (1:4; Rom. 8:29).

LEARN

We understand that God chose us even before we did any good or any bad, that He did it because He already loved us, and that His plan is for us to be like Jesus. Out of love, we should commit to live our lives as a living sacrifice. The extent to which we are living in holiness and in love is the extent to which we are conforming to God's eternal plan. Paul did not tell us to be holy because decency demands it, or because God may discipline us if we do not. We are to live thinking about God's eternal plan and remembering that God had our individual lives in His mind from eternity past.

APPLY

God's plan included you from the beginning. Maybe you would not have chosen yourself to be part of God's team, but God chose us anyway. He chose us not because of our abilities nor because of what we could do for Him, rather, He chose us because He loved us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He chose us in advance, and He predestined us to do a lot of good. Our lives were saved by God so that we may live a life of continuous praise for the grace He showed us.