5.
Redeemed and Restored
When Adam and Eve succumbed to sin, the consequences rippled through all of humanity to follow.
Every man, woman, and child has been affected and tainted by their disobedience.
In that moment, it seemed all our fates were to be estranged from God.
But no.
God conceived and created us in love.
His acts on our behalf are not afterthoughts.
His love would not be defeated.
Our Heavenly Father had a plan.
It was a supernatural plan, one beyond the comprehension of any created being—a divine
plan that not only reconciles us to God but elevates us to unimaginable heights, crowning
each of His children in glory and granting them the adoption into His eternal family.
Out of a love so deep that we can scarcely fathom it, the Son of God Himself would pay
the price of sin for us.
On our behalf, He would willingly endure death—separation from His Father—so that
we might live, offering us the gift of salvation and adoption into the family of God.
And this gift would be freely given to all who would accept it.
God would not force it upon anyone.
John 3, verses 17 and 18 tell us,
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through Him.
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 22 elaborates,
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
Through Adam's disobedience all were corrupted by sin and separated from God.
But through Christ's obedience and sacrifice, those who believe are restored to their Heavenly
Father and granted eternal life.
Only God could pay the price of sin for you, and only through Him could death be defeated.
This was the glorious plan that had been prepared from the beginning, and it remains the foundation
of our faith today.
John 1, verses 12 and 13 say,
Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to
become children of God—children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision,
nor of a husband's will, but born of God.
When you receive Christ, you are not only saved, but also adopted into the family of
God.
Being a son or a daughter of God is not a perfunctory title, it is a profound and eternal
reality.
Through your faith in Christ, you become an adopted child of the Most High, a member of
the royal heavenly family.
This adoption carries with it both privilege and purpose.
God chose you, not as an afterthought or by accident, but with intention and love.
Long before you were born, He saw you, knew you, and planned for your redemption.
And He did so for a far greater purpose than just saving you from sin.
He has called you to be a living testament to His love and redemption, not only for mankind,
but for all of creation.
Worthiness Not Required
When you accepted the gift of salvation through Christ, you were redeemed and reconciled to
God.
But this gift is just the beginning of your journey.
Salvation is not the ultimate goal, it is the foundation upon which God will build the
fullness of your destiny.
It's not the finish line, it's the starting block.
That's why the Lord doesn't care about where you've come from or what you've done.
It doesn't matter.
When you release sin to Him, it's forgiven and forgotten.
The fact is, we have a much bigger time forgiving ourselves than God has forgiving us.
For some, life has been a series of failures, bad decisions, and brokenness.
You're shamed of your past, wrestling with your present, and feel unworthy.
You're unsure of your place in His kingdom.
But let me assure you, God's love for you is not dependent on your worthiness.
Not one of us is worthy in and of ourselves.
Our best efforts, even from those we might consider to be of great faith and accomplishment,
when compared to God's righteousness, we all fall woefully short.
As it is written in Isaiah 64 verse 6, All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.
We all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Romans 3 verse 23, Yet, out of His abundant mercy and love, God extends His grace to us.
We are not saved by our works, but by His grace through our faith in Christ.
The good works we do are the result of God's work in us, not our own works or actions.
We cannot take credit for any of it.
of it, for it is all His doing.
In Ephesians 2 verses 4-9 we read, But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich
in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.
It is by grace you have been saved.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ
Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His
grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
More Than Restored Salvation is only the first step, it is the
beginning of your restoration, the foundation of your divine destiny.
God does not see you as you see yourself, flawed, broken, unworthy.
He sees beyond that.
He sees the reality of you as the person He created you to be, redeemed, restored and
filled with His Spirit.
Despite what you may have been taught, God does not ask you to clean up your life before
coming to Him.
He does not demand good works or acts as a prerequisite for salvation.
He asks only for your belief and acceptance of what His Son did on your behalf.
When you come to Him, then He begins the work of transforming you into the person He
created you to be.
And one of the most important things for you to understand is that your transformation
is a process.
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus.
Philippians 1 verse 6 God knew your weaknesses, infirmities, and
natural proclivities long before you were born.
But He chose you and adopted you out of love because you are more than that, and your value
to Him is not the measure of your good deeds minus your bad ones.
In Ephesians 1 verses 3-5, Paul writes Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
For He chose us in Him, before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in
His sight.
In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance
with His pleasure and will.
You cannot make yourself holy or blameless, and there is more to you than flesh and blood.
You are Spirit, and it is the Spirit of God entwined with your spirit, working transformation
within you that confirms you belong to Him.
It is through that process, and again it is a process, that you become who you are
created to be.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again, rather
the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.
And by Him we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
Now, if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed
we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.
Romans 8, verses 14-17.
This speaks to the close, intimate relationship with God you're supposed to have, not the
distant, casual, superficial affiliation that so many are content to settle for.
Out of His incredible love, grace, and patience, God takes you as you are—fallen and broken,
bruised and battered—to clean you, to heal you, and raise you up to the highest place
of honor as His child.
He provided for your salvation, adoption, and transformation long before you were even
born.
Through Christ you are redeemed, restored, and reconciled back to God.
You are made perfect in Him and through Him.
And this is just the beginning of the journey He has prepared for you, as we shall see in
the next chapter.