YOU ARE ACCEPTED - PS JOSEPH PRINCE

To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:6–7 Today's reading tells us that we are accepted in Christ, the Beloved. And because we are in Christ, we are well pleasing to God! But Pastor Prince, I have done nothing to make myself well pleasing to God! Neither did Jesus. In Mark 1: 9–11, God called Jesus His beloved and said that He was well pleasing before He had even performed one miracle or act of service for Him. You see, Jesus is well pleasing to His Father not because of what He has done, but because of who He is. Did you get that? If not, please read the last sentence again. Jesus didn’t have to do anything or accomplish anything before He was considered beloved and pleasing to the Father. The good news for you and me today is that our Father in heaven has “made us accepted in the Beloved,” and “in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:6–7). This is true for any believer of Jesus. The moment you received Him into your life, God the Father made you accepted in the Beloved. We know that the word “Beloved” here is in reference to Jesus. So why didn’t God just say “accepted in Jesus Christ”? That is because God wants you to be conscious that you are now part of the family and you are beloved to Him the same way that Jesus is. Furthermore, the word “accepted” in the original Greek is a word far richer in meaning than the English translation can convey. It’s the word charitoo, and it means “highly favored.” This word is used only one other time in the Bible, when angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored [charitoo] one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28). So you and I are not just accepted in the Beloved, which is already fantastic, but we are more precisely highly favored in the Beloved, Jesus Christ. In fact, the Greek scholar Thayer says that charitoo also means we are surrounded by favor. That’s why in my church we like to proclaim and declare that we are highly favored, greatly blessed, and deeply loved. It’s a powerful declaration and an important reminder that you are not alone and left to fend for yourself in life. You have a Father in heaven who loves you, favors you, protects you, and watches over you and all your loved ones.