"Accepted in the beloved"

Christ seated on the throne in Heaven

Paul's epistle to the Ephesians begins with a lengthy compound-complex sentence spanning from verse 3 through verse 12. In that lengthy sentence Paul packs a theological wallop, introducing for us our marvelous inheritance in Christ. One phrase stands out for me found in verse 6 which states, (Ephesians 1:6)

⁶ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Any of us who know the Bible can remember who "the beloved" one is. We recall the very words of God the father himself saying, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."
(Matt. 3:17, 17:5). The Father's "beloved" is our Savior and Lord, and we have been accepted by God because we are in Christ and He is in us. So why would that be so important to us?

It matters because it reveals where God has placed us as a result of our connection to Christ. Ephesians 2 lets us know that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6). This means that where Christ is, we are also. He is seated beside the Father in the heavenly realms, and we are seated beside him in the heavenly realms. This settles an important issue for us concerning whether or not we will go to heaven when we die. The truth is that our spirits are already seated beside our Savior in the heavenly realms. A part of us is in heaven already. The rest of us (our souls and resurrection bodies) will get there when we leave our earthly tents behind.

Let that sink in! We are not just heaven bound; we are heaven found! Eternal life has already begun for us because we are accepted in the beloved. God already sees us the same way he sees his own beloved son. Why? Because we are in Him and He is in us. Let us rejoice in our rich inheritance because of our position in Christ Jesus our Lord.