1) Birth: This concept is seen in a few places but probably the clearest is Ephesians 2. "You were dead in your sins and transgressions... but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ... it is by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:1,4-5) So before you knew Christ, you were dead, but God graciously said this word to you, "LIVE!" (Ezekiel 16:6)
2) Kingdom Change: Romans 6 helps us with this illustration. Before receiving Christ we were a part of a nation. It is a nation of darkness. It is the kingdom of sin and we all were slaves to this sin. Sin was our master and we gladly took orders from it. God in his grace brought you into His kingdom, the kingdom of light. So, we have changed teams in a sense.
3) Adoption: Before we received Christ we were spiritually poor. We were put out. We were orphans. Sin was our father but he abandoned his own. We were in a sad state and left to ourselves we would perish. God in His mercy adopted you and I (Ephesians 1:5). He saw our poverty and was moved to act on our behalf. He reached out His hand and brought you into his home with the promise of sharing in His inheritances.
4) Bride: The Bible also teaches us that when we receive Christ we are betrothed to Jesus. We are wed to the King of Kings. We become His object of love and commitment and we gladly receive our beloved with deep heartfelt appreciation. Before we were wed to him we were harlots so it is extremely gracious that Jesus would take us in and provide for us and love us. These word pictures are drawn from Ephesians 5 and Ezekiel 16.
Let us end by thinking about these analogies and what they mean for us personally. Each of them leads us to throw ourselves on Jesus in humble adoration. So take a few minutes today to praise Him for your receiving of the gospel.
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