New Morning Mercies #362

Why give way to fear when, in Christ, it is impossible for you to ever be alone because you are now the temple in which God dwells?

It is far more than a “too good to be true” story. It is so amazing that it defies all normal human logic and intuition. It is the spiritual miracle of miracles that becomes the normal identity of all of God’s blood-bought children by grace.

It is amazing enough that we are forgiven and accepted by God by grace and grace alone. There is nothing natural about this. We naturally think that we have to work our way into God’s favor and earn our way into his presence, but the biblical story is anything but natural. It’s the story of rebels who not only don’t desire a relationship with God, but who could not possibly earn it even if they did. This is a story of divine intervention, of divine substitution, of divine sacrifice, and of divine grace. It is a story of God sending his Son to live as we were meant to live, to die the death that each of us deserves, to satisfy God’s righteous requirement and placate his anger, and to rise out of the grave, conquering sin and death. It is a story of incredible patience, tenderness, compassion, love, mercy, and grace—forgiveness granted, acceptance secured, and righteousness given to those who could not have merited them on their own.

But as amazing as the grace of forgiveness and the acceptance of God are, there is still more amazing grace to this story. God knew that the dilemma of our sin was such a deep personal moral disaster that it was not enough to forgive us. That forgiveness should never be minimized, but God knew we needed more. He knew that after our forgiveness and acceptance, we would need daily help. He knew we would need rescue, strength, wisdom, and deliverance. So he didn’t just forgive us. He didn’t just accept us. He came to us and made us the place where he dwells. Paul says it well: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). I don’t think that we talk about this enough. I don’t think that we celebrate this reality enough. I don’t think we let our hearts consider the wonder of this identity enough. By grace, we are the temple of the Most High God. By grace, he lives in us. By grace, his power is at our disposal. By grace, he fights on our behalf even if we don’t have the sense to do so. By grace, he works within us to complete the labor of grace that he has begun. By grace, he animates us to desire and do what is right. By grace, he exposes us and convicts us. We are able to choose and do what is right only because he lives in us and gives us the power to do so by his grace. He hasn’t just forgiven us, he’s taken up residence in us, and in that there is real hope.

For further study and encouragement: Ephesians 2:11–22