Born Again Christian Part 5
Who Are You?
Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Isaiah 55:11; Ephesians 1:1-2:22
Two weeks ago in part one of this message “Who Are You” which is concluding my series “Born Again Christian” I had you answer the question “Who are you?” I shared with you that as a Christian being a child of God should have made the list of your top five answers. I said this because being identified as a child of God touches every area of our lives and will impact all of the other “identities” we assign to ourselves. Being a child of God will help me be a better father. It will help me be a better spouse. It will help me be a better employee. It will help me be whatever I choose to be if I truly identify myself as belonging to Him.
As we began reading the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, I shared with you that the Bible gives us our identity and this is something that we must understand. Not only do we need to understand this, but we need to believe it so that there is no confusion about who we are as Christians. In chapter one, we identified the following statements that applied to us as children of God:
• I am blessed with all spiritual blessings!
• I am chosen!
• I am predestined!
• I am accepted!
• I am redeemed and forgiven!
• I have practical wisdom!
• I can know His will!
• I have an inheritance!
• I am sealed!
As we go into chapter two, I want to remind you that once again whenever we read a statement that references who we are, what we have, or what we know, we will pause, highlight it and say it out loud with conviction. We will also write it down with words, “I am…” I have…” or “I know...” depending on the statement. So let’s begin with Ephesians, chapter two and verse one.
1. And you has He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. “I am alive!” I am going to spend an eternity with my Father! This is what it means to be ALIVE! We were once dead in sin but through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are now alive! When we leave this world and this body, we will continue to live on the other side in a new body! Praise God!
2. In which in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. 3. Among whom also we all had our behavior in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us. “I am loved!” Something to consider: notice the number of times it refers to us in the past tense: “in time past (2x)” and “were by nature.” Now that we are alive, now that we no longer have spiritual death living in us, we don’t live in that world anymore. All of this was done because of God’s love for us. I know we say this all the time about God loving us, but His love for us cannot be described in the simple words we use. His love for us encompasses and penetrates every atom of our being. We cannot fully understand His love for us on this side, but we will when we enter His presence. Right now, today, just know that you are loved by our Father on High and His Son and because He loves us so deeply, we are never alone!
5. Even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you are saved.) “I am alive and saved!” Again, we are alive now spiritually because of Christ and when we die our natural death, we will continue to live with Him on the other side. When I think of my family members who have past, I do not think about them as sleeping or being dead. I think about them living in the presence of Christ and being more alive there than they ever were here. I look forward to joining them on the other side.
6. And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. “I am raised and sit together with Christ!” The Bible doesn’t say we sit behind Christ. It says we are sitting together with Him! When it comes to the things of this world, we are seated in a position of authority. Again our authority is “in Him” and we see examples of this authority in the gospels when we examine Jesus’ life and the lives of the early believers.
7. That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8. For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. “I am saved through faith!” Faith is the requirement for salvation. We have to believe in the One we have not seen. We have to accept His word without question. This can only be done through faith!
9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. “I am His workmanship!” I want you to see something. We read the story of the creation and we talk about how God made us in His image. In Genesis we see that God made “Adam and Eve” in His image. They were the first. Now after Adam and Eve, everyone else was “made” after Adam. Genesis 5:1-3 says, “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him. Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth.” Adam was created in the likeness of God. Everyone following Adam was made in Adam’s likeness. God’s likeness was perfect. Adam’s likeness was imperfect. But, when we accepted Christ, according to Ephesians 2:10, we have been “created in Christ.” Remember everything you have read about the new birth? About being born again? When we are born again we can truly say we are created in God’s image because we are now created in Christ. We have been prepared for good works because we have been regenerated (renewed, restored)! If you have ever made anything with your hands you know that a workman gets intimately involved with his work because it represents him. Every time we read this verse we should be reminded of how much God loves us. He didn’t just leave us in the hands of an angel. No. He reserved “us” for Himself. He created us in His Son! Don’t you feel special?
11. Therefore remember, that you 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. 12. That at that time you 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. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near by the blood of Christ. “I am drawn near to Christ!” When you have some time, think about the terms: “Were without Christ.” “Aliens.” “Strangers.” “Having no hope.” “Without God.” After you think about those terms, then focus closely on verse thirteen. After being far from God, we are now near to Him through the blood of Christ!
14. For He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us. 15. Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; to make in Himself of two one new man, so making peace. 16. And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. “I am reconciled!” Who did the reconciling? Jesus. He did it for us because we couldn’t do it for ourselves.
17. And came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to them that were near. 18. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. “I have access to God!” Think about the access that our children have to us because we are their parents. Our kids have access to us that no other child has. Why? Because they belong to us! They are our children! This is the picture these verses are painting and it is a powerful picture!
19. Now therefore you are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. “I am not a stranger, but a fellow citizen of God’s house!”This verse repeats verses 11-13. God is making a point about how we really don’t live in Satan’s kingdom any longer. Our citizenship is now in His kingdom.
20. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. 21. In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord. “I am built on a solid foundation.” What is the foundation of the apostles and prophets? Everything Jesus taught. We build “our” foundation by understanding and believing everything that “Our Savior” taught!
22. In whom you also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:1-22) “I am not alone!” New Light, there’s a verse that I want you to never forget and it’s found in Hebrews 13:5. It says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)
God wants us to know who we are as born again Christians. There are many verses in the New Testament that tells us who we are in Him, but these two chapters do a good job of capturing the essence of who we are in Christ as children of God. I hope that you will read and re-read these two chapters until their message gets into your spirit. Focus on what they tell you about who you are as a child of God and what He has made available to you. Then believe it. Don’t question it; doubt it; or try to see if it matches up with what you have been told before. Just read it and believe. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you understand who you truly are NOW that you have accepted Christ. Being a born again Christian means that you have been transformed. Having been transformed means that you are capable of doing more than you ever thought you could “in Him”. In Jesus Christ who saved you.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
