Our Position In Christ

Great men and women have come and gone, and our history books are filled with reminders of what they did when they were here.

For example, today many are still talking about:

• Winston Churchill

• Napoleon

• Margaret Thatcher

• Lady Diana

• Abraham Lincoln

• And many more….

These great men and women have come and gone, yet we are still talking about the impact they made on the world in which they once lived.

But all of these combined can not come close to accomplishing what the Lord Jesus accomplished while He was on earth. He is well remembered.

• Today, more books are written about Him than anyone else.

• Hospitals all over the world exist in honor of his love for mankind.

• Orphanage homes all over the world exist in honor of his love for children.

• There are thousands of missionaries that have left their homes and live in all kinds of difficult situations, spreading the good news of the gospel around the world about Him.

• There are thousands and thousands of church buildings scattered around the world to remind folks of His great love for them.

The Lord does not want us to forget what He did for us.

In this passage of scripture, Paul wants to remind the Ephesians of what the Lord has done for them.

Let me show you some things we need to consider about this wonderful Savior that we love and serve. Let’s look first at-

I. OUR PAST

Look at verses 11-12, we read, “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”

Notice, he is addressing the Gentiles.

WHY WAS HE ADDRESSING THE GENTILES?

God had chosen the Jews to be the missionaries to the world. That is, through the Jewish race He was going to reach the world with the gospel.

But the Jews failed miserably in their effort at doing this.

Instead of living a godly evangelistic life, they became proud and super-spiritual and failed to reach the lost world.

They classified everyone who was not a Jew as “the Uncircumcision.”

Look at verse 11, “…Who are called the Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision…”

Instead of leading Gentiles to the Lord, they threw up barricades in front of the Gentiles to keep them from coming to know the Lord.

Look at verse 12, we were aliens, “…Having no hope, and without God in the world.” That simply means we Gentiles were not God’s people.

That was OUR PAST, but look now at the present -

II. OUR POSITION

Look at verse 13, we read, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were FAR OFF are made NIGH by the blood of Christ.”

Look at the words, “Far off”. This refers to our past when we were aliens, far off from God.

But notice the words, “But now…” This means things have now changed. We now are IN CHRIST.

You can not get any closer to God than this.

WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?

In the Old Testament, as we previously stated, we were dependent upon the Jews to tell us about the God of their salvation.

BUT NOW, CHRIST HAS COME TO BRING US INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD.

HOW DOES HE DO THAT?

The scriptures are clear and unmistakable in declaring that it is by the “Blood of Christ.”

In the Old Testament, the Jews would go to the temple with their sacrifices and offer them up as a sacrifice for their sins.

The blood of animals has never saved anyone, but the blood was symbolic of the perfect lamb of God that would come one day and shed his blood for the sins of mankind.

NOW THAT DAY HAS COME!

• Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21, we read, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

• Look at 1 Peter 1:18-19, we read, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Paul wanted these Ephesians to know how much God loved them.

Look at John 15:13, we read, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Today we are no longer aliens, far away from God, WE NOW HAVE THE POSITION OF BEING “In Christ”.