Called In Christ
Text: Eph. 1:1-2
Introduction
1. Illustration: A pastor received a call from a church that offered him a salary four times what he was then receiving. Being a devout man, he spent much time in prayer trying to discern what God wanted him to do. One day a friend met the pastor’s young son on the street. “Do you know what your dad is going to do?” he asked. “Well,” replied the lad, “Dad’s praying, but Mom’s packing!”
2. Pastor’s, Missionary’s, and Evangelist’s are not the only ones that are called. Truth is, we are all called.
a. Called by the will of God
b. Called to Holiness
c. Called to Faithfulness
d. Called to Receive
3. Read Eph. 1:1-2
Proposition: We are all called become mature followers of Christ.
Transition: Everyone who is a Christian is...
I. Called By God’s Will (1a)
A. By The Will of God
1. When looking at any book in Scripture, there are certain things we must consider.
a. Who wrote it?
b. Who were they writing to?
c. When was it written?
2. Paul makes this really easy. Being an educated man, he was a classic letter writer of his time.
a. LETTERS IN THE ancient world followed a set form. They began by identifying the writer and the readers or addressees.
b. This was usually followed by a greeting and a prayer or wish for health (even in secular letters), then the body of the letter, and finally the closing, which contained any details about the sending of the letter and another greeting (Snodgrass, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Ephesians, 37).
c. Paul tells us the he wrote the letter and who he wrote it to.
d. It is generally believed that Paul wrote this letter while under house arrest in Rome around 60 A.D.
3. However, we learn more from Paul’s introduction than who wrote the letter. He tells us that he was "chosen by the will of God..."
a. The word will means "to purpose, generally based upon a preference and desire —(Louw & Nida: NT Greek-English Lexicon)
b. In other words, Paul is saying that God chose him for a purpose.
c. God doesn’t do anything by accident; He chooses us on purpose.
d. He had a job that needed to be done, and he chose Paul to accomplish that job.
4. Then Paul tells us why God chose him - "to be an apostle of Christ Jesus."
a. The term apostle carried several connotations in the early church, all of which were true of Paul.
b. It referred to someone who had seen the risen Christ, to those sent out by the church with a missionary task, or more broadly to anyone who functioned as an agent or representative.
c. This self-description emphasizes the authority with which Paul wrote.
d. If he was an apostle because of the will of God, what he wrote must be seen as communication from God (Snodgrass, 37).
B. God Chooses Us
1. Illustration: As the golfer approached the first tee, a hazardous hole with a green surrounded by water, he debated if he should use his new golf ball. Deciding that the hole was too treacherous, he pulled out an old ball and placed it on the tee. Just then he heard a voice from above say loudly: "Use the new ball!" Frightened, he replaced the old ball with the new one and approached the tee.
Now the voice from above shouted: "Take a practice swing!" With this, the golfer stepped backward and took a swing. Feeling more confident, he approached the tee when the voice again rang out: "Use the old ball!"
The will of God, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
2. If you are a Christian you have been called by God.
a. John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last (NIV).
b. You are not here by accident but by choice.
c. God has chosen you and called you to be His very own.
3. If you are a Christian you have been hand picked by God.
a. You are not an accident or a mistake.
b. God chose you for a reason.
c. God chose you for a purpose.
4. God has a mission for you.
a. His mission for you is to be yourself.
b. His mission for you is to be His child.
c. His mission for you is to be His ambasador.
d. 2 Cor. 5:20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (NLT)
Transition: We are also...
II. Called To Holiness (1b)
A. God’s Holy People
1. In the second part of verse one Paul indentifies who is writing to - "I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus..."
a. The term that Paul is using here to describe the people in Ephesus has traditionally been translated "saints." However, this in not a particularly good translation of the term Paul used.
b. When we think of the term "saint," we think of someone who is exceptionally holy.
c. The literal translation is "the holy ones."
d. Paul’s first intent was not that these people lived especially holy lives — he described the Corinthian Christians the same way, and yet he had no illusions about the sanctity of their lives.
e. Rather, his primary concern was to emphasize that just as he had been appointed by God to be an apostle, they too had been separated to God (Snodgrass, 38).
2. Paul’s emphasis here is not that they are holy in and of themselves, but that they are holy because they are in Christ.
a. Paul’s addressees were holy because God had set them apart to be his people.
b. The focus is entirely on God’s action and the reference is to God’s saving work (Snodgrass, 38).
3. To insist that someone is holy outside of the work of Jesus on the cross is contrary to what the Bible teaches.
a. Rom. 3:10-12 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
b. The only way that we can claim to be holy is because we have been separated to God by the work of Jesus on the cross.
c. Outside of Christ we are just sinners in the hands of an angry God.
B. Be Holy
1. Illustration: Eugene Peterson in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction writes, “It is not difficult in our world to get a person interested in the message of the Gospel; it is terrifically difficult to sustain the interest. Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate. Many claim to have been born again, but the evidence for mature Christian discipleship is slim. In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier Christians called holiness.”
2. We are called to be holy.
a. 1 Pet.3:16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy" (NLT).
b. Striving for holiness is not an option; it is a command.
c. We must be holy because we serve a holy God who will accept nothing less.
3. We cannot do it on our own.
a. We cannot be determined enough.
b. We cannot be disciplined enough.
c. We cannot lock ourselves up in a monastery and remove ourselves from the temptations of the world and expect to be holy enough.
d. However, this is not an excuse to sin!
4. The good news is we don’t have to do it on our own.
a. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
b. All things are possible for him who believes.
c. Jesus has left us the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and help us.
d. God has given us His word that we can hide in our hearts to keep us from sinning against Him.
Transition: We have also been...
III. Called To Faithfulness (1b)
A. Faithful Followers
1. Another way that Paul descibes the believers in Ephesus is "faithful followers of Christ Jesus."
a. The word "faithful" means a person who has placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
b. They have placed their faith and trust in Jesus.
c. They have placed their confidence in Jesus.
d. They have committed their life to Christ.
2. However, there is another aspect to being faithful.
a. There is more to being faithful than just simply believing.
b. Someone who is a faithful follower of Jesus Christ is a person who is constant in their devotion to Him (Adams, Full Life Bible Commentary, 1026).
c. Those who are faithful keep the faith, are constant in the faith, and persevere in the faith.
3. In Paul’s second letter to his young apprentice Timothy he says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful."
a. Faithfulness is not a one shot deal, where you place your faith in Jesus and then go and do whatever you want.
b. Faithfulness requires that we remain true to our commitment.
B. Faithfulness
1. Illustration: I wonder what would happen if we applied the same standards of loyalty to our Christian activities that we expect from other areas of our lives?
If your car starts once every three tries, is it reliable? If the postman skipped delivery every Monday and Thursday, is he trustworthy? If you don’t go to work once or twice a month, are you a reliable employee? If your fridge stops working for a day or two every now and then, do you say, “Oh well, it works most of the time.”? If your water heater provides an icy cold shower every now and then, is it dependable? If you skipped a couple of electricity bill payments do you think Ohio Edison would mind? If you fail to worship God one or two Sundays a month, would you expect to be called a faithful Christian?
We expect loyalty and reliability from things and other people - isn’t it reasonable then that God just might expect the same from us.
2. We are called to be faithful in our witness.
a. We must live a consistent Christian life in front of others.
b. We must look for ways to share Christ with others.
c. We must live our faith just as much as we talk about it.
3. We must be faithful in our giving.
a. God has asked us for 10% not 2%.
b. God has asked us to give Him the first fruits not the leftovers.
4. We must be faithful in our attendance.
a. Heb. 10:25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
b. God has not called us to be Lone Rangers.
c. God has called us to be a community.
d. God has called us His body.
e. Can you imagine what it would be like if your right arm decided not to show up next week?
f. Can you imagine where you would be if Jesus instead of going to the cross had something better to do?
Transition: We are also...
IV. Called To Receive (2)
A. Grace and Peace
1. In verse 2, Paul prays for these believers to receive two of God’s most precious gifts. He says "May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace."
a. The wording in this verse is paralleled exactly in seven other Pauline letters.
b. "Grace and peace" are important themes throughout Ephesians: Both are key words that describe God’s initial salvation, and both describe God’s continuing work among his people (Snodgrass, 39).
2. Paul asks that they receive grace.
a. God’s special favor; a special expression of God’s divine presence. —(Practical Word Studies in the New Testament)
b. Grace always carries with it the idea of being unmerited.
c. God’s grace is never deserved, nor can it be earned.
d. No other writer comes close to placing as much emphasis on grace as Paul.
e. Not by accident, he begins and ends every letter with "grace," as if to emphasize that all of life is lived in the parameters of grace.
3. Paul also asks that they receive peace.
a. By peace Paul means, "to be bound, joined, and weaved together with God and with everyone else.—(Practical Word Studies in the New Testament)
b. Though not used as frequently, "peace" too has a foundational role in Paul’s theology.
c. God alone is the one who conveys grace and peace, and Paul wants his readers to experience this (Snodgrass, 39).
B. God’s Gifts
1. Illustration: I am not what I ought to be.
I am not what I want to be.
I am not what I hope to be.
But still, I am not what I used to be.
And by the grace of God, I am what I am.
- John Newton
2. It is by grace that we are forgiven.
a. Not because we deserve it.
b. Not because we earned it.
c. Because God gave it.
3. It is by grace that we are saved.
a. Grace brought Jesus to this earth.
b. Grace took Jesus to the cross.
c. Grace kept Jesus on the cross.
4. It is by grace that we reach out to others.
a. Because of what God has done for us.
b. Because God taught us the meaning of love by His grace.
c. Because God gave us grace in spite of ourselves.
Transition: God’s gifts are free to anyone who will receive.
Conclusion
1. We are all called.
a. Called by God’s will
b. Called to holiness
c. Called to faithfulness
d. Called to receive
2. What part of your calling needs work?
a. Holiness
b. Faithfulness
c. Receiving
3. God is willing and waiting to supply what is lacking in your calling.
