Ephesians 1.7-10 (5)
Pray Psalm 16.1, 2, 11.
Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
O my soul, you have said to the LORD,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You”…
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Sing Psalm 16.1, 2, 11.
(All to Christ: Jesus Paid It All)
Preserve me, O my God; I refuge seek in You.
You alone are all my good, my LORD and Savior true!
Refrain v. 11
Make me know life’s way! Pleasures fill Your hand.
Fill my life with joy each day! Before Your face I stand.
Read Ephesians 1.1-10; meditate on verse 9.
Read slowly and out loud the phrase, “according to His good pleasure”. What comes to mind as you repeat these last two words? Where can we know such good pleasure? What’s it like?
Preparation
1. What is the source of God’s “good pleasure”?
2. To what is the pleasure of God linked within this verse?
Meditation
The will of God can be reduced to a single word: pleasure.
What is God’s will for us? Pleasure. What is His will for the world? For lost people? For the poor and needy? Pleasure. Pleasure is not a word many people associate with God. Pleasure seems a little, I don’t know, self-centered? A distraction from productivity? Frivolous? Bordering on risqué?
That’s doubtless true of many human pleasures. But God’s pleasure, like God Himself, is good. He purposes from within Himself that good pleasure should be our experience as we come to know the mysteries of election, predestination, adoption, and all the rest. He wants us to take joy in these. God did not purpose these mysteries to plunge us into uncertainty and endless theological tiffs. He wants us to know His pleasure, that experience of satisfaction, wellbeing, security, and joy that is fellowshipping in God and His holiness.
Paul reviewed all that God had done for the Ephesians and for us, so that we would rest in His good pleasure, indulging ourselves in it so that the pleasure of God would become more and more our pleasure as well.
God’s pleasure derives from within Himself. There’s nothing like it, nothing to match it, nothing better than the good pleasure of God. And it is His will that we His saints should share in His pleasure with Him.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
God made all this grace to abound toward us; and in this He found great pleasure.
He purposed in Himself to do this, and in so doing, pleasure abounded all around.
His and ours.
Humanly speaking, we too, find great pleasure in doing God’s will—therefore living obediently and doing the works that God has planned for us to do since before He created the heavens and earth (Eph. 2.10).
“…the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Prov. 15.8).
“…the blameless in their ways are His delight” (Prov. 11.20).
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way” (Ps. 37.23).
“Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, yet Your commandments are my delights” (Ps. 119.143).
“I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart” (Ps. 40.8).
Queen Esther found great pleasure in saving her people. So intent was she upon other’s well-being, that her attitude was thus: “If I perish, I perish!” (Esth. 4.16). The thought and threat of death did not stop her pursuit of seeking pleasure through her sacrifice.
And Jesus, our Beloved, found great pleasure in sacrificing Himself for our salvation and our eternal good.
“…when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father,
having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (Jn. 13.1).
“…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him Who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Heb. 12.2, 3).
Pleasure is in direct contrast to displeasure and pain.
When we have Christ’s (and Esther’s) perspective on life, even the prospect of death does not discourage our passion for seeking God’s pleasure, His delight; and the joy of giving ourselves away for the pleasure of another. “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved” (2 Cor. 12.15).
Our pleasure derives from God’s grace. And His pleasure “derives from within Himself…
And it is His will that we His saints should share in His pleasure with Him.”
Good pleasure abounds to those whose hope is in Him.
Reflection
1. How do you experience the pleasure of God?
2. What makes the pleasure we have with God good pleasure?
3. How does the pleasure we have with God compare to the “pleasures” of this world?
As he formerly ascribed their election, so he now ascribes their calling, to the good pleasure of God. The Ephesians are thus led to consider that Christ has been made known, and the gospel preached to them, not because they deserved any such thing, but because it pleased God. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Ephesians 1.9
Pray Psalm 16.3-11.
Thank and praise the Lord for His abundant goodness. Pray for strength to resist the devil and to find all your fulfillment in the Lord. Set your mind on knowing His Presence with you throughout this day.
Sing Psalm 16.3-11.
(All to Christ: Jesus Paid It All)
The saints within the earth, majestic in their day,
delight me with the worth of all they do and say.
Refrain v. 11
Make me know life’s way! Pleasures fill Your hand.
Fill my life with joy each day! Before Your face I stand.
They endless tears shall weep who worship idols vain;
their ways I will not keep, nor speak their empty names.
Refrain
My portion and my cup are You, my Savior dear;
You help and hold me up and ever keep me near.
Refrain
I bless Your Name, O LORD; my mind instructs each night;
You teach me by Your Word and guide me in the right.
Refrain
You are ever with me, LORD; in You I shall not fall.
But rejoicing in Your Word, I abide within Your call.
Refrain
Soon Your glory I shall see, for as Jesus rose again,
You will come to gather me to my home with You in heav’n.
Refrain
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we are looking at grace, which is the currency we use to make our way in the divine economy. In our Read Moore podcast this week, we continue our readings from the book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds the saint preparing for his second voyage to visit The Promised Land of the Saints. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
