Review 7+ blessings.

Anyone see Chronology?

Holy and Blameless how? all in Christ--never in ourselves/both just and sanct

What were we chosen for? "Spread the gospel? Make more Adventists? have the truth? Be "right?" What? be holy and blameless. Any church that doesn't understand this could easily get caught up in some of these other things and miss the point. The work of redemption is far-reaching. It shouldn't just bring us together to "play church." God didn't choose us merely to build or buy a building, set up committees and have meetings. He chose us to be something awesome. And we're here to understand what that is and how it's supposed to happen.

What do we have? What is relationship between redemp and forgive? So why are we forgiven? You mean it's not because we ask for forgiveness, it's because God paid our debt? It can't be because we asked. Here's where that reasoning goes, and it's from a gross misunderstanding of 1Jn 1:9. It says I can't be forgiven unless I see my sin and repent of it. Then God will condescend to forgive me and I will have life. Here's the problem. What's my motivation for asking for forgiveness? I want eternal life! What's wrong with that? It's selfish. So I've asked for forgiveness for losing my temper, but now I've got to ask forgiveness for trying to get into heaven selfishly. But as soon as I do that I have to ask again, because what was my motivation? Selfishness. And it never ends. There's only one way it can end that gives us a chance at eternal life. God has to forgive us first, before we ask. All we can do is receive it, how? By believing that he has been that good.

This does not mean that everyone will be in heaven. I can remember starting a fight with my brother and having him come to me later and say, "I forgive you." You know what I did on at least one occasion? I was so insulted that he was being unselfish and humble after how I'd treated him that I refused to be forgiven! I said, "I'll tell you what you can do with your forgiveness!" So Paul's not preaching once-saved always saved.

But if we say that God won't forgive unless we ask, we are making Him more proud than my brother. Who really is more proud? My brother or God. God, though he has every right to demand an apology from us does not, why? He knows we can't give it. So he forgives us first. Aren't you glad!! chain story man died, catholic and wanted believe he was not suffering, but someone said, "Oh yes he is, he had an awful sin to his account." "How dare you say that." "If you look you'll see a chain in his barn that belongs to you. It was 'borrowed' without asking and without intention of returning." "In that case I give it to him to spare him years of agony in purgatory." The man who told that story couldn't understand why his father was kinder than God. Are we kinder than God? No, in just the same way God forgave us first. Through the blood of Jesus we have redemption and forgiveness of our sins. Do you believe it? Why would you throw it away? Just for your pride? Just to be able to say, "I" did something!! Why not admit your helplessness and receive His mercy. There's no room in the mercy of God for your work. We are saved by grace through faith, not of works--even the work of initiating, approaching God and asking for forgiveness--he's already forgiven you--so that no one can boast!! This is what grace means! Anyone who denies this grace is what the book of Hebrews talks about when it says, "See that no one is immoral, or is godless like Esau who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son." Heb12:16. This doesn't mean that a person who believes in God's mercy and forgiveness will knowingly continue in sinful actions, either. In fact it gives a person for the first time an appropriate motive for ceasing to commit sins. Now I don't commit sin because I value my relationship with the one who forgave me. It's not selfish anymore. I care about God and He's the one who suffers from my sin. And I begin to see the damage sin does to others and I don't want that because I see them as valuable to God because he has treated me with such value. And even sins that only damage myself I now want to cease (even though there's no such thing) because God says, "don't hurt my friend Bruce, that hurts me," and I don't want to hurt myself because of what it does to God! We're not getting soft on sin here, we're seeing that God has done the only thing that can actually empower to leave sin behind. Condemnation does not cure people of sin because their motives are still all wrong, only love cures people of sin. This is why God says do good to enemies and heap coals of fire. He practices what He preaches.

What is mystery? specific: Gentiles included "in Christ" broad: Uniting of all things both in heaven and on earth under one head, Christ. This is God's goal. It has been since before creation. We need to notice something about God's creation at this point.

Everything alive that God has created functions on two principles. Everything alive. Take two minutes and show me that you haven't lost the art of communication since last week and tell me what are these two principles. If you're having difficulty, look at each other. --unity through diversity-- This is God's signature on everything he has created. When God has a church that he calls a body. What do you know about that church? the individual differences won't be stamped out to make the church unified. In fact they'll be needed.

And in order to bring it about, what things must first be in place? list them

Why reveal mystery to us? Who acts it out? Isn't that amazing? What a risk God has taken!

What does he expect to happen when we act it out? Must read on. He comes back to the mystery in ch 3. Wisdom made known to whom? Is there some question about God's wisdom among the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms? How does our being united in Christ reveal God's wisdom?

What did Satan accuse. Law of God cannot be kept. God's holding out on you. You won't die. He's set up an impossible std and He will kill you if you don't keep it. God's gov't is tyrannical. No one worships him except out of fear of being wiped out! So what does God do? Creates earth. Creates people who have not seen His mighty power in person. They were created last, they can only trust Him. Satan is given the opportunity to speak to them, but if they trust God, not out of fear, but out of love, Satan's accusation is silenced. What happened, though? They mistrusted God. Is God's plan foiled? Apparently not. In Christ He can unite the human family again, not by force but through love, and apparently when the church is united in serving Him the way mankind was created to serve Him, Satan's accusations are finally silenced. Pretty amazing, isn't it?

Notice: Are there beings in the heavenly places who are not subject to Christ? Why does God need to have us redeemed in order to bring all things in subjection to Christ?