Already and Not Yet

Sunday - January 2nd

Scripture to Read Today: Ephesians 1:1-3

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Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

As we live the Christian life here on earth, we live in the dynamic reality between our position before God and our practical walk in this world. The Book of Ephesians emphasizes who we are in Christ positionally throughout the first three chapters. Paul then addresses how we live in Christ today practically throughout the last three chapters.

As we explore this book in our weekly messages at Calvary and in our Take5 daily devotionals, we will see this living dynamic of the Christian life. How we live now should become a greater reflection each new day of our position before God in Christ. Since the day we placed our faith in Jesus as our Savior, we have had a perfect and unchangeable position before our Heavenly Father. Nothing can ever change that posture before Him. God sees us as wholly forgiven, covered in the righteousness of Christ Himself. Praise the Lord for that truth!

Practically, we know that we still struggle with our old sinful nature in our daily lives. We wrestle with the temptations of lust, greed, and pride. At times we mess up - we sin. However, that does not change our position spiritually before God. We are clothed with the goodness of Christ Himself. God continues to forgive our sins and failures. He is faithful and just to His own Word regarding our position and His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Our heart's desire should be centered on walking with our God, being transformed by Him, and then letting others see the love and life of Christ through us more and more daily!

Ephesians 1:3 explains that we are settled in our position before God and have access to every spiritual blessing in Heaven due to that standing in Christ. We are already complete in Christ as God sees us. But, here on earth, we are not yet complete. We wait for our final redemption that we receive as we step into Christ's presence one day.

Theologians use a simple description to express this tension between our heavenly position in Christ and earthly walk now. They say this is our "Already and not yet" state. We are already complete, secure, and redeemed in the eyes of God. And, again, nothing can change that position. Yet, we still experience the ups and downs of life and struggle to live a life pleasing to our Lord here on earth. One day, when we are with Christ forever, our "already and not yet" state will be changed into "already and done."

Today, as we walk on earth, we can access all of the spiritual blessings that are already ours in Heaven. Our study in Ephesians will help us enjoy those blessings now!

Remember that you are already pure and secure in Christ but are not yet complete here on earth!