EPHESIANS: In the Beloved

EPHESIANS Number 8:

In the Beloved

Verse 6 told us that we have been made accepted in the Beloved, so when verse 7 begins “in whom…” we know for sure that it is the Beloved about whom the Spirit is speaking. Hearing this Person referred to as the Beloved brings to mind a number of other passages.

Matthew 3:16–17 recounts the time when John baptized Jesus. It says, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 12:18 quotes Isaiah 42:1. It reads, “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.”

Matthew 17:5 records the events surrounding the Transfiguration of Jesus. There, we find, “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Finally, Peter says this, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.” 2 Peter 1:16–18 (KJV 1900)

A theme central to the book of Ephesians, and indeed to all of Paul’s teaching, is that we should know that we are “in Christ.” These words, “in Christ” or “in Him” reverberate through this epistle 19 times. Verse 6 told us that we are accepted “in the Beloved”, and we have seen in several passages from Matthew (these are also present in Mark and Luke) from Isaiah, and in Peter that “the Beloved” refers to the Lord Jesus.

How is it that we are accepted, then?
We are accepted by being in the Lord Jesus.

As we saw earlier in our study, nothing impure can be in Him, nor can He live in anything impure. We saw that as cause for great joy because it means that if we are in Him, we must, of necessity, be pure, holy, set apart, blameless, sanctified, saints; you know, hagiazo.