Believe 5 - Identity in Christ
Ephesians 1:3-14
October 19, 2014
We’ve started our search for a college for Joshua. We’ve made a couple of college visits. Two things I’ve learned . . . I’m not sure I’m ready to let go of Joshua, and college is not cheap. Since I graduated, college costs have increased over 500%. Ouch!! But that’s not what this message is about. You see, at the ripe old age of 16-17, Joshua is trying to decide what he wants to be when he grows up. That’s not easy, is it? After all, I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up!
As Joshua, and then Zachary make their decisions, my hope is that what they do for a career, is not what defines them. Too often we see people who become what they do. They can’t separate themselves from their professions, careers and dreams. I see it all around me. I don’t want that to be the case for Joshua and Zachary.
We’re onto week 5 of Believe and we’re looking at our identity in Christ. That was the scripture memorization verse we had earlier this morning. “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” ~ John 1:12
It’s too easy to lose our identity and to find ourselves searching all over to find out who we are. We hear stories on the news, we see it in the people we associate with and we certainly deal with it in a very private and personal way as we hear voices, voices which tell us and then are projected into the world.
We tell the world what we think about ourselves and don’t think for a minute we’re fooling the entire world. We may fool some people, but overall we aren’t fooling everyone. I made up that mask you’re looking at with positive and negative images of the way we think of ourselves and project to the world.
We hear the voices in our heart, spirit and mind telling us good and bad. We hear the good from those who really love and care for us, we hear that good from God — yet we tend to believe the bad which comes from satan and from those who really don’t care for us. We hold onto that bad stuff.
We hear things like . . . you’re ~ ~ ~
Not good enough
Not smart enough
Not attractive enough
Not skinny enough
Not rich enough
Not smart enough
Not athletic enough
Not from the right family
We’re told we’re not enough! And you can add whatever else works for you. Hear those voices long enough and your identity will be formed by it. Eventually you believe you’re not enough. The voices which shape our identity begin early in life.
Those words and thoughts stick! Don’t they? I know I’ve heard them. I was reminded I wasn’t good enough. I can’t repeat what I heard, the words aren’t for worship. And as much as we think we can overcome them, they come back and haunt you. You remind yourself, they were right, you’re no good, not good enough.
Then we embrace a relationship with Jesus Christ because we realize in our heart, spirit and mind we need Jesus to help us through life. But we sin, and the world knows it, and we think we’re worthless and unlovable. God can’t love me. I’ve committed too many terrible sins. My sins exempt me from God ever loving me. So, I think God wouldn’t die for me. I’m not good enough.
Aah! That’s where we get it wrong friends. You see, there’s nothing we’ve done which is so bad that God cannot forgive us and bring us into His family. Humanly speaking, some may never forgive you, divinely speaking, we have a God who is not human! Thank God for that!! And He can and will forgive you . . . if you ask.
So, whatever you’ve done in your life up until this very second, know that God wants to be in a relationship with you. He loves you, He died for you. In 2 Peter 3:9, as Peter wrote about the return of Christ, he said ~ 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
That’s God’s desire for us. God doesn’t want you to think you cannot be loved and embraced by Him. Peter tells us repent, turn away from your sin. Turn to God and God will embrace you in a life changing relationship. He wants you in His family. There is not a wall which is meant to keep you away, the door is always open, the lights are always on. But, we must receive Christ.
In order to receive this blessing from God, Paul gives us some great help, and we could spend weeks on this passage, but we will only be spending a few minutes on it. I want to read from Ephesians 1:3-14 ~
SLIDE
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4 even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will,
6 to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ
10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
WOW!! There is so much theology, so much great news packed into those 12 verses. It’s almost impossible to break this passage apart and pick a small portion to talk about. But . . . that’s what I’m going to attempt.
While he was in prison in Rome, around A.D. 61, Paul wrote to this young church. Ephesus was located along the coast of the Aegean Sea, in western Turkey. Ephesus was home to the Temple of Artemis — which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and had 127 60-foot marble pillars. Ephesus also had a theater which seated about 25,000 people.
Another main structure in Ephesus was called the agora, the entranceway. This was a triple archway into the marketplace. You could buy most anything in this large marketplace. Suffice it to say, Ephesus was a big city.
So, as we explore some verses in Ephesians 1, Paul used imagery to help the people connect to the scripture. What Paul wrote to the church was readily understood, but is often missed by us. I’m going to look at 3 images Paul wrote about in this chapter — — adoption, redemption and sealing.
The first image Paul used is the image of adoption. Paul wanted the Ephesians to remember their true identity. He wrote, In love 5 He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.
It was God’s great joy to adopt us into His family. God didn’t have to, He wanted to. What is your primary identity? God adopted you — do you understand that? If you believe in Jesus, you understand you don't earn God's love. God loves you because of who you are and who you will yet become in His kingdom.
Our tendency is to read a passage of Scripture like this and see it through 21st century eyes rather than through 1st century eyes. So, how would the people in Ephesus understood what Paul was telling them?
If you’ve ever watched the Greek play Oedipus Rex, you would understand that the story line was not shocking to the Ephesians. King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes were warned by the oracle that when they have a son, he will cause the family great damage. So King Laius takes his baby's feet, pins them together, and abandons the baby in a field. A shepherd finds the baby and names him Oedipus, meaning "swollen feet," and Oedipus is raised by the king of Corinth. Now, the part about King Laius abandoning his baby boy doesn't shock the people, because child abandonment was common in Roman culture.
In Roman culture, when a baby was born and set at the father's feet, the father either picked up the baby, thereby claiming it, or he turned around and walked away, rejecting the baby. Maybe he wanted a boy and had a girl; or he wanted a girl and had a boy. Maybe there’s some kind of defect or birthmark that displeased him. The child would be exposed to the elements for the gods to decide his fate. Usually a baby would be taken to the agora, the marketplace, and abandoned there. Sometimes someone would come along and take the child in, not as their child, but to be raised as a slave or prostitute. Paul was writing to this type of culture.
When Paul writes to the churches in Ephesus and says that in love God adopted them, he is writing to an abandonment culture. He’s writing to a culture where babies were routinely abandoned. I read that outside the eastern gate of Ephesus, the edge opposite the theater and the harbor, there was a garbage dump where people would frequently bring babies they didn’t want. I also read there was a doctor in Pergamum who wrote a manual on how to measure the dimensions of the child to increase the odds of picking one who would make a strong slave. Given the culture, slave children considered themselves the lucky ones.
So, Paul was telling the people this — — If you have come to know Jesus, your most defining moment isn't who threw you out BUT who took you in. God picked you out, picked you up, and took you home. God did that for you!! He was willing to die for you so you would never again have to face rejection from the world. He wanted you to be part of His family, even when nobody else did!
Have you ever been dumped? Dumped by a spouse? Dumped by a parent, or a child? Dumped by a fiancé? Dumped by a friend? Dumped by a company? Dumped by trusted associates? Has any of this ever happened to you? If you’ve been dumped . . . discarded, then you know what Paul was talking about.
There were so many issues the Ephesians were facing, they were slipping back to old patterns ~ sexual immorality, gossip, theft, lying, deceit, self-centeredness . . . and more.
Before Paul tells them they need to behave, he reminds them they belong! Their most defining moment is not who threw you out, but who brought you in. If you heard the call of God and responded to the Christ, you need to know He picked you out, picked you up, and brought you home. He adopted you. You’re family! Let that sink in. Remind yourself, God adopted me. Hold onto those words, believe them!
Image number two is the image of redemption. The term redemption was also a trade word. In Ephesians 1:7, Paul wrote ~ 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. What do we have redemption through? Through Jesus' blood. Again, let's look at this through a 1st century understanding.
Ephesus had one of the largest slave markets in the Roman world. In the marketplace you could buy goods and you could buy people, slaves. Ephesus was the center of slave trade in the Roman Empire.
Slaves were often rescued from the dump, sometimes as an infant, and sometimes as adults. A family may buy an infant, raise him, then sell him when they thought he would bring a profit.
When they were purchased, in effect they were said to be redeemed. Someone purchased them for money. They were bought for a price.
Now, if the slave became a Christ follower, Paul wanted them to know their primary identity is not that of a slave to his master. There was someone else who paid for them — who bought them. And when Paul uses the term, "In Him we have redemption through His blood," he's saying, "Listen: the adoption program God used wasn't money. When Jesus hung on the cross, He was paying the adoption cost to bring your souls to God."
Jesus paid the price for you by suffering on the cross. That was the purchase price. You didn’t have to pay up. Jesus paid the your debt for you. It was TETELESTAI. Jesus paid your debt in full. If you proclaim Christ - - - you are now free!!
Christianity is not about doing enough for God so he finally loves you. No, God buys us — redeems us — through the blood of Jesus hanging on the cross: "In him we have redemption through his blood—the forgiveness of sins." God doesn’t need to punish you for your sins, somebody else was already punished for them.
Paul was writing to a culture where people were bought and sold, and he wanted them to know their primary identity is not that you're owned by your master; your primary identity is that your Lord, Jesus, bought you. You're His. And if your boss isn't worthy of your hard work, your Lord is. Wake up in the morning and provide excellent goods and services for people with all your heart, not because your boss deserves it, but because your Lord deserves it. Knowing whose you are changes your behavior.
"Remember who you are. He adopted you, He redeemed you."
Now, you look at the slaves and you’ll notice they all had a tattoo. These tattoos are not voluntary, they are the seals of their owners family. That's the third image Paul points to — the image of sealing.
In Ephesians 1:13, Paul wrote, 13 In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were SEALED with the promised Holy Spirit.
Paul is reminding them, when they believed in Jesus - - - they were marked with a seal of the Holy Spirit.
The seal is a mark of ownership. That seal or signet ring marked ownership. People started branding their animals with hot irons. A brand is also a seal—a mark of ownership.
Here is a picture of a woman who was a slave in Sudan. The mark in her face was a brand from a hot iron from her master. It still happens today.
Paul is writing to this kind of culture — a culture in which people were literally sealed to show who purchased and owns them. Paul is saying, "When you came to believe in Jesus, you received God's seal upon your life." The seal is a promise; the seal is God shouting, "You're mine. You're mine. I've adopted you!"
You need to know and believe your true identity in Christ. Whatever happens that is not good in your life. You name it! Maybe you’re in it right now. Know that you are His! You are the King’s child! The Lord of life, the God of all Creation, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies . . .
He loves you . . . He adopted you, He redeemed you, He sealed you. You are His! That my friends is your primary identity . . . You are a child of the Most High God, Jesus, the Christ!
And that is freeing. I don’t have to earn my way in, I don’t have to buy my way in, when life is a struggle I don’t have to buy junk to satisfy me, because I am the Lord’s.
When I remember that I'm loved, I serve differently. When I remember that I'm loved, I love differently. When I remember who I am, I give and live differently.
When I find myself in one of those moments when I'm buying something I don't need and I think, What am I doing here? Why do I do what I do? Chances are, I've forgotten who I am.
When I find myself leaving a conversation and think — Was it necessary to rip into that person and bring them down? Chances are, I've forgotten who I am.
When I find my blood pressure rising over something really, really stupid and think, You don't understand me! Why don't you agree with me? Chances are, I've forgotten who I am.
When I remember who I am, when I settle this identity thing, and when I remember it, I'm free to give grace, because I've received grace. I'm free to give love, because I've received love. I'm free to serve, because God has served me and lavished His mercy on me.
When I remember who I am, I live differently. Just as the people of Ephesus needed to remember their identity, we too need to remember who we are. Knowing our primary identity as children of God, bought by the blood of Christ.
