Ephesians: Your Identity In Christ (4)

Ephesians | Your Identity in Christ (4)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 10/19/2014

Several centuries before Christ, Alexander the Great came out of Macedonia and Greece to conquer the Mediterranean world. He didn't know it, but God was using him to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. On one of his campaigns, Alexander received a message that one of his soldiers had been continually, and seriously, misbehaving and thereby shedding a bad light on the character of all the Greek troops. And what made it even worse was that this soldier's name was also Alexander. When the commander learned this, he sent word that he wanted to talk to the errant soldier in person. When the young man arrived at the tent of Alexander the Great, the commander asked him, "What is your name?" The reply came back, "Alexander, sir." The great conqueror looked him straight in the eye and said forcefully, "Soldier, either change your behavior or change your name."

I don’t know which one he changed, but this story has a lesson for each of us. When we call ourselves Christians, we are identifying with Jesus Christ. When we wear a cross, or Christian t-shirts, or put ICTHUS on our cars, we are being a witness for Him. We are being identified with the name of Christ.

Is your behavior compatible with that name?

The last few weeks, we’ve been exploring the New Testament book of Ephesian, which—as I’ve said before—is all about our identity in Christ. Each chapter reveals something about who we are in Jesus. Last Sunday, for instance, we discovered what Ephesians says not just about our identity as individuals, but as a church—that Jesus is the head, we are the hands, and love is heart.

As we move the magnifying glass over the last half of chapter 4, Ephesians reveals how our identity in Christ ought to affect our daily lives. Here’s how he starts off:

In the Lord’s name, I tell you this. Do not continue living like those who do not believe… They continually want to do all kinds of evil. But what you learned in Christ was not like this. I know that you heard about him, and you are in him, so you were taught the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse, because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do. But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy. (Ephesians 4:17-24 NCV).

In Jesus, each one of us is a new person; you have a new identity in Jesus. And just as Alexander the Great expected the soldier bearing his name to behave a certain way, Christ expects those who are in him and bear his name to live a certain way as well. We are made to be like God, to live holy lives. But what does that look like in daily life?

Well, Paul goes on to describe five areas of life that ought to be altered because of our identity in Christ.

• OUR MORALITY

The first is our morality. Specifically, our moral integrity. Paul writes, “So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth, because we all belong to each other in the same body” (Ephesians 4:25 NCV). Truth is an aspect of Christ’s eternal nature. Remember when Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”? Jesus is truth, so if we are in Christ then our lives ought to be full of truth as well. Honesty and integrity play a vital role in Christian living.

A young lady was soaking up the sun's rays on a Florida beach when a little boy in his swimming trunks, carrying a towel, came up to her and asked her, "Do you believe in God?" She was surprised by the question but replied, "Why, yes, I do." Then he asked her: "Do you go to church every Sunday?" Again, her answer was "Yes!" Then he asked: "Do you read your Bible and pray every day?" But by now her curiosity was very much aroused, so again she said, "Why, yes. I do!" The lad sighed with relief and said, "Oh good. Will you hold my quarter while I go in swimming?"

In search of a trustworthy person, the little boy knew the right questions to ask. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t as honest as we should be.

In Boston a minister noticed a group of boys standing around a small stray dog. "What are you doing, boys?" he asked. "Telling lies," said one of the boys. "The one who tells the biggest whopper gets the dog." The shocked minister replied, "Why, when I was your age, I never ever thought of telling a lie." The boys looked at one another, a little crestfallen. Finally one of them shrugged and said, "I guess he wins the dog."