I got a terrific letter in the mail:
“Dear Dr. William M. Nieporte: Results are in and final. I am proud to announce that you are our newest winner with $10 million dollars.”
Well, of course I was excited. I started to imagine all the things I could do with $10 million dollars. I thought to myself:
“My ship has finally come in.!”
I started reading the letter again:
“Results are in and final. I am proud to announce that you are our newest winner with $10 million dollars.”
I was really excited now. Then I read the next sentence:
“That’s what we MIGHT say to you if your enter our next contest and your entry is selected as our next winner.”
Well, whether or not Publisher’s Clearing House ever stops by your home with a winning entry, I want you to know that IN CHRIST that your ship really has come in. That’s what I want to talk about in this blog post. In Galatians 3:15-25, Paul writes about the tremendous wealth we have inherited IN CHRIST. And unlike the letter from Publisher’s Clearing House, the closer we inspect Paul’s words the more confidence we can be that our ship has truly come in.
He tells us that somebody has died and left us a glorious inheritance. Before Jesus death, God prepared a Last Will and Testament that lays out the Father’s plan and provisions for His people.
When Jesus was crucified, humanity became heirs to that promise.
On the Day of Pentecost, the WILL was executed and distribution was made to all those who receive God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ. We are a wealthy people. Our ship has come in.
Listen: Everything we need for time and eternity is in Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that the fullness of God is in Jesus Christ. If we are Christians, then the life of Christ abides with us. That means we have access to all that Christ possessed for then purpose of serving God and advancing the goodness of the Gospel.
No wonder Paul writes that in Christ we are complete.
COMPLETE – did you get that? Nothing is missing. Nothing is lacking. Nothing is wanting.
COMPLETE – our ship has finally come in IN CHRIST