October 9—Morning—John 17:10
"And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." —John 17:10

Precious testimony of a precious truth. Take care, my soul, not to let these blessed words of Jesus slip from your memory, but make them the everlasting meditation of not only this morning but every morning, and all day, every day. Reflect on the personal significance of these words. All of Jesus's treasures, both in his people and his grace, still belong to the Father, for Jesus and the Father are one in essence, will, and possession. The Father's gift of the church to Jesus, with all its blessings, does not diminish the Father's right; likewise, all that Jesus has is the Father's, and Christ is glorified in them.

This is a blessed order in the work and purpose of redemption: first, we trace everything back to the Father as the original Giver, Fountain, and Source of all. Then we trace them as belonging to Jesus through His role as the glorious Mediator. From this foundation, the Holy Spirit takes what is Jesus’s and reveals it to the people. The Holy Spirit does not take them directly from the Father, but through Christ; for without the person and work of Jesus, they could never have been communicated to us. So, Christ is glorified by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of His people when the Spirit takes, gives, and shows them—not just as the Father’s gifts but as the fruit of Christ’s merits and sacrifice—thereby displaying the common interest of both the Father and the Son in the salvation of souls.

My soul, do you understand these precious truths? Oh, then, live in the enjoyment of them. Ensure that Jesus is glorified, and the Father is glorified in His dear and ever-blessed Son.
 

October 9—Evening—2 Thessalonians 2:13
"But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." —2 Thessalonians 2:13

One of the sweetest aspects of grace is its freeness and its undeserved nature towards the happy recipients of its distinguishing favor. The ultimate purpose of grace is the glory of God, and the promotion of that glory in the redemption and sanctification of the church through Jesus.

Now, my soul, sit down this evening and carefully consider the blessed effects of this truth in your own heart. The apostle reminds you that if you are chosen, it must have been from the beginning, chosen to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Pause and ask yourself: are you chosen? Has this sovereign act of grace touched your life? How can you know? Look at the effects. Are you humbled to the very dust before God, fully aware of the distinguishing nature of this grace? Do you understand and feel, beyond any doubt, that God’s eternal choice of you was not based on anything you have done to set yourself apart from others, but was entirely an act of the Lord's free and sovereign grace?

Do you realize that this love was shown to you when you were no more deserving of it than others? When you deserved wrath just as much as others? Does this recognition drive you to the depths of humility? And as the sense of God’s astonishing grace rises, do your own conscious unworthiness and sinfulness humble you even more, acknowledging that "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound"?

Look at it another way: the consciousness of being chosen from the beginning to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit becomes the strongest motive for erasing pride from your heart and laying your soul in deep self-abasement before God. At the same time, this understanding fuels a fervent love for the gracious Author of such distinguishing mercy!

If Jesus were to ask you, as He asked Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" (John 21:15), could you sincerely appeal to Him, who knows your heart, that He would indeed find love there because He Himself placed it there?

Pause and meditate deeply on this great question, exploring the many ways in which it might be sought and revealed in your life. And finally, if you can add to the evidence of God's choosing you, through the sanctification of the Spirit, by seeing the progressive work of grace in your life, mortifying sin and growing in Christlikeness, what joy you will find! You will be able to echo the apostle’s words: “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), and gratefully declare, “I am bound to give thanks always to God because from the beginning He has chosen me to salvation, through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth!”

------

Related Resource
God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation - 2 Thessalonians 2:13