---

In our last lesson we saw something of the greatness and the glory of God's Son. The glorified Man, Jesus Christ, is in Heaven today as the eternal object of the Father's love and delight.

All the blessings of God come to us through our relationship with His Son.

Christ is the One in whom God has found His perfect delight. We are loved and accepted and blessed by God because we are IN CHRIST. The Bible says that God has "made us accepted in the Beloved (in Christ)." (Ephesians 1:6)

God does many other wonderful things for us when we are saved.

God forgives us of all our sins.

Because Christ died for our sins and because His work is perfect and complete, God forgives us of all our sins the moment we trust Christ as our Savior. The Bible says,

"In whom (in Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Ephesians 1:7

We are not saved by our good works. We are not saved because we have Christian parents or because we have lived a good life. Being baptized does not save us. Going to church or joining a church does not save us.

God's salvation is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by faith in Him. The Bible says,

"Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things." Acts 13:38-39

God gives us everlasting life.

When we trust Christ as our Savior, God gives us the gift of everlasting life. The Bible says,

"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

How long is eternal life? It is forever and ever. The Lord Jesus said,

"He who believes on Me has everlasting life." John 6:47

Once we receive the gift of everlasting life, we can never lose it.

When we take the Lord Jesus as our Savior, our name is written in "The Lamb's Book of Life." Jesus is the Lamb of God and this is His book. We belong to Him forever! The Lord Jesus said,

"Rejoice, because your names are written in Heaven." Luke 10:20

God makes us His child.

When we receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we come into the family of God.

The Bible says,

"As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe on His name." John 1:12

God is now our heavenly Father and all believers are our brothers and sisters in the family of God. The Bible says,

"Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1

God was so delighted with His only Son, the Lord Jesus, that He wanted many sons and daughters like Him. The Bible says that we are being "conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:29)

God gives us a perfect righteousness.

Have you worked and struggled to make yourself acceptable to God? No matter how hard we try we can never produce a righteousness that is acceptable to God.

What we can never do for ourselves, God has done for us. God gives the gift of His perfect righteousness to everyone who puts his faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible calls this the "righteousness of God" which is by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22).

How does God make us perfectly righteous in His sight?

Because we are IN CHRIST, we have a perfect righteousness before God. The Bible says,

"For He (God) has made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM." 2 Corinthians 5:21

Think of it! We are made "the righteousness of God" in Christ!

No truth in the Bible is more important for us as believers than knowing that we are IN CHRIST and that we have a perfect righteousness because we are in Him.

It is Christ Himself who is our righteousness. Christ is the righteousness of every believer. Every believer can say, "I am perfectly righteous in God's sight because Christ is my righteousness."

A faithful servant of God said on his death-bed, "Christ is my righteousness, and that settles everything."

God puts His Holy Spirit in us.

God sends His Spirit into our hearts the moment we become His child. The Bible says,

"Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6

The Bible says,

"Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16

God does not dwell in expensive buildings and temples. He dwells in the hearts of His children. Our body is now "the temple of God."

The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Bible. Jesus said,

"When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth." John 16:13

Christ comes to live in you.

The moment we are saved, Christ comes to live in our heart. The Apostle Paul said,

"Christ lives in me!" (Galatians 2:20)

You can say this too if you have taken Him as your Savior.

The Lord Jesus Himself is in Heaven, but He lives in the hearts of all believers by His Spirit. The Bible says,

"Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you?" 2 Corinthians 13:5

The Lord Jesus comes to live in us so that we can live a life that is pleasing to God. The apostle Paul said,

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

We have Everything in Christ.

All the blessings of God that come to us come through our relationship with His Son. The moment we trusted Christ as our Savior, God put us IN CHRIST.

Because we are IN CHRIST, we share in all that Christ is and all that He has. The Bible says,

"In every thing you are enriched by Him." 1 Corinthians 1:5

God has said that one day He will have new heavens and a new earth in which there will be no sin. The apostle John wrote,

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Revelation 21:1

God's new universe will be filled with love, joy and blessing. The center and the glory of this new universe is God's Son, the Lord Jesus. All those who have trusted Christ as Savior will share in His glory.

God's purpose for us as believers is that we will be WITH His Son and be LIKE His beloved Son. The Bible says that God is "bringing many sons to glory." (Hebrews 2:10)

We will be forever in the circle of God's love because we love His Son and we belong to Him.

God has made His Son the heir of all things. Because we are in Christ, we will share in all that He has. The Bible says that we are "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:17)

What a marvelous future we have! The Bible says that we are called "to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:14)

Dear friend, what about you? Will you be in Heaven with those who love and worship God's Son?

If you are unsaved, God is saying to you, "My Son died for your sins. I invite you to join those who love My Son and trust Him as their Savior."

---

^top