God-given Identity

In one of Paul's letters, he begins by affirming that God has given us every spiritual blessing. And he comments on some of the blessings.

 

The first blessing is God's solution to sin. God planned before creation, that Jesus, one part of the God-head, would become human, demonstrate what a life with God should look like, and give his life as a sacrifice to satisfy God's judgment. Now, those, united with Christ, are accepted by God. They will be set apart, and he will view them with Christ-colored glasses. He will not see their sin. He will make them part of his family. He redeemed them, and forgave them. One picture, the Bible gives us, of forgiveness is putting all our sin on a goat, and sending it away into the wilderness, never to return. Our sin is gone. Our sin, and guilt, are no longer part of our lives. He has showered his kindness on us.

 

Another blessing involves God's plan to give all authority over creation to his Son. And because we are united with his Son, we will receive an inheritance. God made all people, who chose to give him allegiance, his people. He marked the as his people by giving them the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God's guarantee that we are his people. And it is God's guarantee that we will receive our inheritance.

 

These are indeed reasons for celebration and worship.