Born Again Christian 5b Series

Born Again Christian Part 5

Who Are You?

Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Isaiah 55:11; Ephesians 1:1-2:22

Two weeks ago in part one of this message “Who Are You” which is concluding my series “Born Again Christian” I had you answer the question “Who are you?” I shared with you that as a Christian being a child of God should have made the list of your top five answers. I said this because being identified as a child of God touches every area of our lives and will impact all of the other “identities” we assign to ourselves. Being a child of God will help me be a better father. It will help me be a better spouse. It will help me be a better employee. It will help me be whatever I choose to be if I truly identify myself as belonging to Him.

As we began reading the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, I shared with you that the Bible gives us our identity and this is something that we must understand. Not only do we need to understand this, but we need to believe it so that there is no confusion about who we are as Christians. In chapter one, we identified the following statements that applied to us as children of God:

• I am blessed with all spiritual blessings!

• I am chosen!

• I am predestined!

• I am accepted!

• I am redeemed and forgiven!

• I have practical wisdom!

• I can know His will!

• I have an inheritance!

• I am sealed!

As we go into chapter two, I want to remind you that once again whenever we read a statement that references who we are, what we have, or what we know, we will pause, highlight it and say it out loud with conviction. We will also write it down with words, “I am…” I have…” or “I know...” depending on the statement. So let’s begin with Ephesians, chapter two and verse one.

1. And you has He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. “I am alive!” I am going to spend an eternity with my Father! This is what it means to be ALIVE! We were once dead in sin but through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are now alive! When we leave this world and this body, we will continue to live on the other side in a new body! Praise God!

2. In which in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. 3. Among whom also we all had our behavior in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us. “I am loved!” Something to consider: notice the number of times it refers to us in the past tense: “in time past (2x)” and “were by nature.” Now that we are alive, now that we no longer have spiritual death living in us, we don’t live in that world anymore. All of this was done because of God’s love for us. I know we say this all the time about God loving us, but His love for us cannot be described in the simple words we use. His love for us encompasses and penetrates every atom of our being. We cannot fully understand His love for us on this side, but we will when we enter His presence. Right now, today, just know that you are loved by our Father on High and His Son and because He loves us so deeply, we are never alone!

5. Even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you are saved.) “I am alive and saved!” Again, we are alive now spiritually because of Christ and when we die our natural death, we will continue to live with Him on the other side. When I think of my family members who have past, I do not think about them as sleeping or being dead. I think about them living in the presence of Christ and being more alive there than they ever were here. I look forward to joining them on the other side.

6. And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. “I am raised and sit together with Christ!” The Bible doesn’t say we sit behind Christ. It says we are sitting together with Him! When it comes to the things of this world, we are seated in a position of authority. Again our authority is “in Him” and we see examples of this authority in the gospels when we examine Jesus’ life and the lives of the early believers.