We have also received an inheritance in Him,
predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything
in agreement with the decision of His will,
so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.
Ephesians 1:11-12 HCSB
Series: An Invitation to Rest
Have you ever gone back behind someone to redo a job he/she has already completed? I am guilty of this in our household with the loading of the dishwasher. I have a system. A strategy. For me, it’s like putting together a puzzle to get the most dishes in the wash and the most effective cleaning for what is loaded. When my husband has loaded the dishwasher, it is challenging for me not to go back and rearrange the load before the wash.
I actually find myself anxious about this. My way is “better.” Clearly, I don’t trust his work—and I can’t rest in the fact that the work is completed. How many times do we do this with the finished work of Christ?
When Jesus hung on the cross—was crucified for us and for our sins—He said, “It is finished.” The work is done. He completed the ultimate job… Yet we still wrestle with our own motives and abilities, and our own failures and faults.
Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus, as recorded in Ephesians 2:4-10 (HCSB):
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
God has provided the Way, the Truth, and the Life—the answer for every situation—through the gift of His Son, Jesus! We are dead to our sin and alive unto Him. And as Paul encouraged the Ephesians, we are seated together with Christ in the heavens. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is the head, and we are the body. It is not just His head seated in that place at the right hand of the Father. We are right there with Him as His body.
There is nothing we can or cannot do to cause His display of righteousness in the earth. It is not founded on any of our works—but on His. And Jesus completed the fullness of the works through His sacrifice. So the question really is: Do we trust Him in the completion of the job? Do we really know, understand, live, and work from the place of rest, victory, and peace that He has established for us?
In 2 Corinthians 9:8 (HCSB), Paul wrote:
And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.
Can we take a seat—with Christ—at the right hand of the Father, knowing, trusting, and believing that the work is DONE? Or are we festering in our own works and self-involvement, attempting to make things happen according to our wishes, desires, and control?
God is able. And He is willing. The work is done, and we are seated in a position of rest with our Savior. Our hope and trust is in Him, and should never be rooted in ourselves. We are incapable. But He is able. We will fail. But He has already established our victory.
We, who believe, have an inheritance of victory in Him. As we trust Him and yield to Him, we can rest in His ability and His victory, knowing He has already fought for us and won. The works we now walk in are predestined to bring glory to God alone. And we can rest in perfect peace knowing His victory is established.
Are you going back over tasks, chores, and responsibilities to ensure they are performed correctly and up to your standard? Or are you able to rest in the perfect work that is already finished before you? We encourage you to step back and rest in the finished work of Jesus. Take your seat with Him in the heavens, and know He has completed the work for you. It is finished.
Holding Fast to Hope,
Maryann
Scripture References: Ephesians 1:11-12, 2:1-10; 2 Corinthians 9:8; John 19:30