Ephesians: Our Identity In Christ
Part 1
Our Identity In Christ
Ephesians 1:1-6
The Blessings of Redemption
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
These magazines sweepstakes have always intrigued me. I'm not quite sure that I really believe anybody is winning any money. What do you think? Do you know anyone who has won anything from these sweepstakes? The letters always come personally addressed, claiming that you are among the select, chosen at random, and that if you will only mail the form back in, you may be a winner.
Equally intriguing are the television ads promoting such sweepstakes. There you will see so called "real people" winning millions of dollars. What a prize! But I'm skeptical. These people never appear to be quite as happy as I would be, were I to win a million dollars. Perhaps the answer lies in their most common remark - "I can't believe it!" Perhaps that would be our remark if we found we had suddenly inherited a fortune from a little known relative.
The reason why most respond in this way is that we cannot expect the unexpected.
Unfortunately, what is so true in the material realm is also true in the spiritual realm. Many of us have trouble believing in the extravagant goodness of God toward us personally. The idea that God would lavish extravagant blessings on us is something we find hard to believe. It seems that we have been conditioned to think of ourselves as unworthy creatures. We are not good enough, or holy enough, or sincere enough to get the really good things from God - that is our thinking. Who are we to presume upon the goodness of God? But the fact remains that all of us have a rich and extravagant inheritance in Christ. In fact, when we are told just how rich is that inheritance, we easily find ourselves saying, "I can't believe it!" We may not be able to believe it, but it is true.
This is one of the main themes of the book of Ephesians. It reveals to us the extreme magnitude of God's blessings to us in Christ. It tells us who we are and how we can live. And it is powerful.
One amazing truth we will find as we study this book is that our inheritance in Christ is given to us freely. There is nothing we can do to earn it, or deserve it. We don't have to work for it, or enter any contest, like one I know of.
Back in the ‘80’s a city newspaper owner had three sons. He offered ownership of the newspaper to the son who could write the most sensational headline of only three words. The first son's headline was, "Reagan Turns Communist." The second son concocted this: "Khomeini Becomes Christian." But the third son inherited the newspaper when his headline was submitted. It had only two words, "Pope Elopes." Fortunately, we don't have to earn our spiritual inheritance in this way. We don't have to work hard and earn it, or be clever, or be good, or be deserving. All we have to do is be in Christ.
How to be in Christ is the subject of the first three chapters of Ephesians. If you will expose yourself to the light of God's truth contained here, you will be able to see farther than ever before.
Paul prays a prayer, and it is my prayer that, as we work our way through Ephesians,
17. that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
18. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19. and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
(Eph. 1:17-19)
Now, let me ask you an important question: Do you really know who you are in Christ? How do you see yourself as a Christian? Do you see yourself as powerful? Or do you see yourself as impotent? Do you understand the true extent of what it means to have the Son of God living inside of you? Do you hold your head up high because of your relationship to Christ, or are you sometimes embarrassed? Do see yourself in rags or in riches? Do you recognize that you are blessed?
Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Sometimes we emphasize the fact that the truth has the power to make us free. Truth is truth whether you believe it or not. And truth is truth whether you know it or not. But let me approach this from a different perspective. There are times when we can never be free unless we "know" the truth. You know, if you do not know the truth, you may be acting on a lie. If you act on the basis of an untruth, then the untruth becomes the reality for you, and you live in that reality. It doesn’t change the truth, but you live as though it does. Hence, you are living a lie. Don't shortchange yourself by believing you are less than God says you are. What a shame it would be to believe you are a pauper when you are really a prince.
In the first six verses of Ephesians, we will discover at least three characteristics of who you are in Christ.
In Christ We Are Significant
As Paul opens this letter to the church, he addresses it to the "saints." This is a good biblical term commonly applied to all believers. In fact, in some ancient manuscripts, the designation "at Ephesus" is not found at the beginning of this letter. Because of that, many believe that this was a general letter from Paul to be circulated among all the churches. In any case, Christians are commonly referred to as saints. It comes from the Greek word hagios, which literally means "holy," to be set apart. To be a saint, in the New Testament sense of the word, is to be a "holy one." And that's who we are in Christ. You may be thinking right now, I don’t feel holy. But you are set apart for God, and therefore you are holy.
Don't be misled by the mistaken idea that sainthood is something which can only be conferred upon certain dead people by some ecclesiastical body. According to God's Word, all believers are already saints. From God's perspective, we are saints, not because of who men say we are, but because of what Christ did for us. We are not holy because of our own good works or righteousness. The Bible tells us that "all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment." (Isaiah 64:6) We are righteous because Jesus died on the Cross so that He could give us His righteousness. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:21,
He {God} made Him {Christ} who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
We are now the righteousness of God in Christ. What an amazing statement!
When Christ died on the Cross, He paid the penalty for our sin. He died there to put to death our old self. But He not only died to forgive us, He died to enable us to receive His life. As we surrender to Him, He gives us His life in exchange for ours. He becomes our life. We live by His life. He is in us, and we are in Him. Now we live from this new level of life. His righteousness is made ours. When God looks at us, He sees us in Christ.
Here's the truth of who we are in Christ. In Christ we have significance. We must begin to realize our righteousness in Christ. And that will only come as we begin to see ourselves as in Christ.
Here is where we find the importance of knowing the truth. Unless we know our true position in Christ, we will never begin to live from that position. In Colossians 3:1-4 our position is described,
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Our position is as those who are "hidden with Christ in God." We are now seated in heavenly places in Christ. That is our position. And we are saints because of our position in Christ. We are significant because of our position in Christ. This is what we must begin to see by faith. This is who we really are. It has been said that some people can't get saved because they won't accept their sinnership, and that some Christians can't walk in victory because they won't accept their sainthood. In Christ we are significant. In Christ we are saints. You have His permission to live like a saint.
In Christ We Are Sufficient
In verse 3 we read, 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, According to this verse, God has given us sufficiency in Christ.
Look closer at this jewel of a verse. It is not that He will bless us. He has blessed us. It's a done deal. And what has He blessed us with? He has not just given us a blessing; He has given us spiritual blessing. But look further. He has not just given us spiritual blessing; he has given us every spiritual blessing. And finally we are told that He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. What a promise! It's really more than a promise. That is our current reality.
Again, if you do not know this truth, you will never walk in it. In Christ we have sufficiency, because we have every spiritual blessing in Christ. And so we must learn to rely on our resources in Christ. In Christ, we are rich. The riches of Christ have already been deposited into our account. We must now begin to draw upon those riches.
It is as if someone made an anonymous and secret deposit into your checking account. If you did not know about the existence of that deposit, you would never be able to draw upon it. But when you came into the knowledge of that truth, then you would immediately have access to that resource. This is precisely what the Word of God is saying to us. You may choose not to believe it, and live in spiritual poverty. Or you may choose to draw upon your resources in Christ. Write a check on this account! See if it doesn't clear. It will not bounce.
Sometimes we can feel that we do not have what it takes to do what God is calling us to do. Throughout the Scriptures we find God calling us upward. There is a high calling for the believer. There is much the Lord commands us to do. But the commands of Christ are not burdensome. It has been said that every command of God is not a demand on you, but a demand upon the God who gave the command. In other words, God will never give you something to do that He hasn't already given you the power to do. In Christ you are already sufficient for everything He calls you to do. Begin to live in that knowledge. Just to be sure that the folks understood what Paul meant, he specifies blessings.
In Christ We Are Secure
In verse 4 we are told that God chose us in Christ. In verse 5 we are told that God predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. (Don’t get hung up on the word predestined, it simply means that God wants us to be his children). And in verse 6 we are told that God freely bestowed His grace on us in the Beloved. In Christ we can learn to rest in our relationship to Him. In Christ we are secure, because we are in the Beloved. Some translations say we are accepted in the Beloved. The point is that we are His. We are in Jesus. Therefore, we are secure. Our security rests on our relationship.
It was God's will to choose us. He called us in order to adopt us as His sons and daughters. We are told that this is His will. In other words, God has given us what we do not deserve. He has freely bestowed on us His grace and made us part of His family. No wonder John could say,
1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
(1 John 3:1).
God loves me. He has accepted me. And the same is true for you. There is nothing you can do for God to love you more. There's also nothing you can do for God to love you less. God doesn't change you so that He can love you; He loves you in order to change you. It is His love that changes you. Surrender to that love. Bask in it. Rest in your relationship in Christ. In Christ you are secure. In Christ you are accepted.
What a powerful passage! In Christ you are significant. In Christ you are sufficient. In Christ you are secure. You can say it another way. In Christ you are rich. In Christ you are received. You are a saint, so learn to realize your righteousness. Live like a saint! You are blessed with every spiritual blessing, so learn to rely on your resources. You are accepted in the Beloved, so learn to rest in your relationship. In Christ you are righteous, not your own righteousness, but because of His.
Remember what Jesus said about the importance of knowing the truth. You can't behave right unless you believe right. Proverbs 23:7 says that as a person "thinks within himself, so he is." If you believe what the devil says about you, you will fail. You probably will not even try. If you live based on what others say about you, you may or may not be any better off. It depends on whom you talk to. But if you live based upon who God says you are, then you can hold your head up high. You are somebody, not because of who you think you are, but because Christ lives in you. In Christ you have all you will ever need. And in Christ you are totally secure. Nobody, nothing can ever take that away from you.
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