Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
“In Him” (Ephesians 1:11)
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
The “in him” that starts this verse is the seventh occurrence of “in him” or “in Christ” in this chapter alone. Paul uses this phrase countless times in his writings; it is a touchstone of his understanding of what God has done and how salvation works. It recalls Jesus’ teaching:
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15: 4)
Too often when we read these verses we debate whether “fruit” refers to the fruit of evangelism or the fruit of the Spirit. From what the writers of the New Testament say, we miss the mark in asking such a question. Everything good we have and are is a result of our living and staying in Christ. Another way of saying it is, “Make your home in me, as I do in you” (The Message). John is using the same terminology when he says, “Those who keep [Jesus Christ]’s commands live in him and he in them” (1 John 3: 24). Apart from him we are pathetic and powerless; no one puts it more categorically than Jesus himself: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5). As L.E. Maxwell put it, “Apart from Christ we are zero, with the rim knocked off.” But in him God accepts us and lives his life through us. “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Cor. 5: 17).
This is absolutely critical to understand as we approach people of other faiths and ideologies. We are inviting people to do more than change their opinion of Jesus. We are urging them to trust him enough to make their home in him, and thus become part of the new creation that is his Kingdom.
Someone has described mission as a humanly impossible task that must inevitably succeed – but the latter is true only if we walk where he walks, talk as he talks, remain in fellowship with him, and keep in step with the Spirit. As a minimum that means spending time with him and in his word every day. It is a mutual thing – he makes his home in us as we make our home in him. Over time we get to know him better. Jesus is asking us continually to “hang out” with him. He has given us the Holy Spirit to ensure that his presence becomes a reality in our lives.
Mission is humanly impossible because we have a hard enough time changing our own deeply imbedded “mind maps”, without trying to get someone else to change theirs – but that is a significant part of mission. Still, it must succeed because God is in it. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14: 12). His going to the Father was the mark of the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower believers and convict the world of sin. The Holy Spirit is the indwelling God who helps us make our home in Jesus and enables us to bear fruit in the lives of others.
It is in Jesus that we, and those with whom we share him, have eternal life. It is in him and in him only that the new creation comes. Jesus said that he, when he is lifted up from the earth (literally, “crucified”), will draw all people to himself (John 12: 32). Jesus, his death and resurrection and our “making our home in him” have to remain the central message we proclaim, however we do it. Every spiritual blessing God grants us is “in him”.
Father, what wonderful blessings you have given us in Jesus! May we never wander away from him, or give our ultimate loyalty to anyone other than him. In him is the place we want to stay.
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