Daily Devotional

When we came to know Jesus Christ as our Savior, we were qualified by God’s grace to receive every spiritual blessing.  As we recognize the depth of what God has done for us it should cause us to be thankful.  Paul tells us that we are to constantly give thanks to the Father for the wonderful benefits of our salvation.  Our salvation goes beyond anything we can completely understand now.  But as we walk with the Lord and experience our position in Christ, we begin to understand to a small degree, all that God has done for us.

In this verse, Paul explains the wonderful benefits of our standing in Christ.  The Father in His grace has qualified believers to partake of the inheritance of the saints by placing us in Christ.  In this new relationship, we enjoy a standing which makes us the objects of God’s grace.  He qualifies us to be the recipients of His grace now with the future prospect of heaven for eternity.  

This relationship with Christ has “qualified” us to be the beneficiaries of His inheritance.  The Greek word for “qualified”, means “to make sufficient or render fit.”  Paul is giving us a snapshot of our life.  Through the atoning work of Christ, He has made us “fit” to be the beneficiaries of His grace.  It is a once for all action…never needing to be completed again.  We are forever qualified, and we cannot lose that standing.  It is all of grace!

Since we are qualified by God, we are also “partakers of the inheritance.”  This Greek phrase means “the portion of the lot.”  Paul is saying, God has determined that our “portion of the lot” as believers in Christ, is one of blessing, not only in the future life, but also here on earth.  
This side of heaven, God has determined to bless us…not with just material things but with spiritual blessings that are much more valuable than the temporal.   Today we need to lift our eyes to see what is of true value.  So often we look intently on the things and situations around us.  We lose our focus on the eternal.  As we give God thanks for His many blessings, may we look beyond the temporal, and see the spiritual blessings that are of greatest value.  Developing this attitude of thankfulness is so important, for the material is passing away, but the spiritual will continue throughout eternity.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for all that You are doing in my life.  You have blessed me with a spiritual inheritance beyond anything I can truly understand.  Help me to live my life for your glory, as an expression of my thankfulness for all that You have done for me.  Amen

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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