TUESDAY April 9, 2024

The Faithful in Christ

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 1:1

Who was this epistle written to? It was a letter written by Paul to the saints who were in Ephesus. As a child, I had a false concept of who a saint was. I was taught that a saint was someone who lived their life, and when they died, they were canonized by the church. Then a statue was made of them out of wood, rock or marble, and that is a saint.

That is not the true meaning. The word saints is the Greek word hagios, which means “holy” or “separated ones.” Believers in Christ are to be “set apart”––separated to God from this evil world. It speaks of our consecration, pureness, sacredness and blamelessness. All of us are saints––separated ones––holy. That is amazing to me.

God calls us to be separate from the world: “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). This means that through Jesus Christ, we can have a relationship with a holy God.

The letter was also addressed to the faithful in Christ Jesus. The word faithful in the Greek language is pistós. It means “loyalty to faith” and “worthy of trust, that can be relied on.” How can we become faithful in Christ? As we obediently exercise our faith to do what God has called us to do, we are being faithful. As you are faithful in the small things God has given you to do, He can entrust you with more. He can use your life to do even greater things (Luke 16:10).

However, our focus should not be what we can do for God; it is more about what God has done for us! That is what counts! He is the One who is faithful to bring about His purpose in our lives: being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ... (Philippians 1:6). As we place our trust in God and live to serve and love Him, He will be faithful to us.

The glory of God’s faithfulness is that no sin of ours has ever made Him unfaithful.
~C. H. Spurgeon~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!