Yesterday’s topic for thought/discussion at communion was based on Ephesians 1:7 – “ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
What are the “riches of God’s grace” and how does that relate to communion?
Here’s where my thoughts went.
Sometimes we are like the Israelites of Jesus’s time and don’t see what God wants us to. They were looking for a Warrior King Messiah, to redeem them physically from their oppressors. They completely missed and dismissed the spiritual blessings Jesus was offering them. Sometimes we get so caught up in the physical world, we neglect to acknowledge and dwell on the spiritual blessings given to us by God through Christ. Redemption, forgiveness, grace.
Ephesians 1:3-8 in the NLT reads: “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”
When we partake in communion together, we acknowledge and are thankful for the sacrifice made so we can have redemption. We share it with our fellow Christians and are reminded that Christ died for every single one of us. And we think about how we can show His love and grace to others who have yet to know Him. He wants each and every one of us to come into a relationship with Him. The way we do that is cultivating our relationships with each other. As we acknowledge “the depth and the riches of God’s saving grace,” and “the riches and depth of such wonderful love,”* it becomes easier for us to show it to others. It flows out of us to them, then in to us from Him, then out then in, and we become closer to Him and bring others to Him.
*From the hymn “O the Depth and the Riches” but Tillit S. Teddlie
