In one of his great prayers, Paul the apostle asks that God will give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ (Ephesians 1:17). In this way, we shall get to know Christ better. Indeed, without such help from the Spirit of God, there is no way that we can know Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to our aid to reveal him to us more fully.

It is important that we pray this prayer for ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual insight so that we might see personally the great blessings that are ours in Christ.

Sometimes we fail to believe because of ignorance or unwillingness or fear. It may be that we just don’t ‘get it’.

Spiritual truths need spiritual insight. Only the Spirit of God really understands the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10,11).

We need the Holy Spirit’s help so that we may understand (1 Corinthians 2:12), or, to use Paul’s expression here in his letter to the Ephesians, to have the eyes of our hearts opened (1:18).

Like Elisha’s servant, we need to see past the realm of the physical into the realm of the spiritual (2 Kings 6:17). We need a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.

The list of the ways in which God has blessed us seems never-ending. The first chapter of Ephesians contains a smorgasbord of good things.

• He sealed us with the Spirit (1:13). God gives his Holy Spirit as a guarantee. When the Spirit comes we know that our inheritance is secure.
• He has given us an inheritance (1:14). The day is coming when we will receive the fullness of the inheritance that is ours. There is an eternal hope for us–with eternal joy and fulfilment.
• He made us alive (2:5). When we put our trust in Christ, he gives us new life. Although we were physically alive, we were spiritually dead in transgressions and sins. Because God is ‘rich in mercy’ he made us come alive in spirit with eternal life–eternal in both duration and quality.
• He raised us up (2:6). Having come alive in Christ, we also share in his ascension. Just as Jesus himself was raised up to a place of exaltation, and authority over the realms of darkness, so, too, are we.
• He seated us with Christ in heavenly realms (2:6). Christ ‘sat down’ in a place of rest and authority when he ascended to heaven. The great victory over Satan had been won. We too share in his conquest.

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.

God’s blessings are as infinite and eternal as he is himself.

If we personalise them, we have a powerful list of affirmations. Here are some of them–

• I am blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)
• I am redeemed (1:7)
• I am forgiven (1:7)
• I am included in Christ (1:13)
• I am seated in heavenly places (2:6)
• I am God’s workmanship (2:10)
• I have access to the Father (2:18).
• I am a fellow citizen with God’s people (2:19).
• I am a dwelling place for God’s Spirit (2:22).
• I am a member of one body (3:6).
• I share in the promise of Christ (3:6).
• I can approach God with freedom (3:13).
• God is able to do immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine (3:20).

We need to keep reminding ourselves of these great truths.

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.

When we kneel to man-made objects or worldly practices, we are not elevated. By worshiping something less than ourselves we ourselves are lessened by the experience.

So the Scripture says that those who worship idols become like the very idols they worship (Psalm 115:8; 135:18). In contrast, those who worship the Lord become like him, conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29).

When we give ourselves to the pursuit of wealth or pleasure, when we are mesmerised by sexual allure or the desire for revenge or power, our values fall into line–these things become the most important issues in our lives, and we are degraded as a result. In other words, they become objects of worship.

When we give ourselves to the pursuit of God’s glory and love, then he becomes the object of our worship, and we are ennobled.

True worship, said Jesus, is in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). It is both sincere and honest, both emotional and rational, both affective and cognitive, through both Spirit and Word. No other form of worship will do.

This is why worshiping God captivates our whole lives. It involves every part of us.

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.

The list of the ways in which God has blessed us seems never-ending.

• He forgave us (Ephesians 1:7). No longer do we need to feel guilty before God. Every sin is forgiven–not only those that we have committed in the past, but also those that we may commit in the future. All sin is covered! There are no shadows any more. We can stand faultless before God with a true sense of dignity.
• He lavished his grace upon us (1:8). There is no stinting with God! He didn’t just give us a dose of his grace. He poured it out upon us!
• He made known to us the mystery of his will (1:9). The word ‘mystery’ means something like ‘secret’. In other words, God has let us in on his great plan for the world which is ‘to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ’.
• He included us in Christ (1:13). In other words, just as Jesus Christ is acceptable to God the Father, so are we, because we are included in him. It is as if God sees us through Jesus. As there is no fault in him, so there is no fault in us.

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.

In the New Testament, ‘worship’ is always a verb, never a noun. In other words, the focus is on doing. It is concrete, not abstract; active, not passive. To worship the Lord is to devote our energies to honouring him.

It is easy to make ‘worship’ a noun–the name of a theological concept–and then study it as an abstract thing.

But worshiping God involves the whole personality. Spiritually, intellectually and physically we bow before him.

This is not to make us think less of ourselves but to gain an honest appraisal of who we are. We are the crown of creation, made in the image of the almighty, sovereign God. This both humbles us and exalts us.

Like Isaiah, in terror and awe we regard our own infinitesimal, exposed and sinful state and cry, ‘Woe is me! For I am lost!’ (Isaiah 6:5). Yet, through the simple act of obeying and serving him, we rise up in faith and boldness in the Spirit of the Lord to a greatness we could never otherwise attain (Isaiah 6:8). When we hear the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ we reply, ‘Here I am! Send me.’ (Isaiah 6:8).

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.

Christ is ‘far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come’ (Ephesians 1:21).

There is no title or position greater than his–and he shares this mighty achievement with us! Never again can we say that Satan is ‘on top of us’ or ‘getting us down’.

• He has brought us near to himself and near to one another (2:13). Through Christ, the barriers that separated us from God and from one another have been removed.
• He has made us members of his family (2:19). All God’s people now share together in one family as brothers and sisters. Race, colour and nationality are of no further significance.
• He has made us part of his temple (2:20-21). God’s temple is not made of bricks and mortar–it is a temple built of human beings who combine together to make a dwelling place for the Spirit.
• He has made us heirs of the kingdom. All the promises that God has made apply to us. We are heirs to eternal life, eternal joy, eternal fulfilment, eternal satisfaction, eternal sharing together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.