FINDING OUR IDENTITY
“No One Exactly Like Me”
Ephesians 1:1-14
I have always loved statistics. Some are useful. Others are worthless. I want to begin by sharing one that I think is amazing. Listen closely. Here it is: In a typical year about a million billion snowflakes fall each second around the world. That’s enough snow to make one snowman for each person on the planet every 10 minutes. Now that may seem worthless to you, you may think I guess I can take that information along with two bucks to the diner next door and get a cup of coffee. But here’s an interesting one you’ve likely heard before. Of those billions and billions of snowflakes that fall each second, no two are identical. Each one is unique.
Now here’s a truth I want you to recognize today:
There is no one exactly like you. Look all the world over.
There is no one exactly like you.
Our identity is influenced by a variety of factors in life:
• Your family. Genetics. You may look like one or even both of your parents.
• Your friends and how you allow them to shape your life. This is why you Mama always told you to be careful what crowd you hang out with.
• Your teachers. I can still name several teachers from my past who made a profound impact on my life----some for what they taught me in class but more so for how they spoke to me and treated me outside of class. They made me feel unique; they made me feel special. They affirmed me.
• Your pastor can influence you. Before I was a pastor I had pastors who were there to mentor me and help me with major decisions.
There are many people who shaped my life, some in good ways and some in not so good ways but nonetheless they played a part in shaping me into the person I am today. And you also and that’s why there is no one exactly like you. No one! So all of this presents us with a series of questions. Like:
• Who am I?
• What does God want me to do?
• What’s my purpose in life?
• What is my unique identity in Christ?
Now here’s the truth…. Many people will go all the way through their life without being able to answer these questions. Fortunately we have the scripture and prayer and people we can go to so we can find out because all of us need to understand our unique identity in Christ.
I want you to follow me in the book of Ephesians today. This is Paul’s letter to the church in the city of Ephesus. And it will help you understand your true identity and your true purpose in life.
So let’s jump in. As I have said it is Paul the great Apostle who is writing this letter to the church in Ephesus. The word Apostle is actually a legal term and it refers to someone who has the authority to speak on behalf of someone else. In this case, Paul has the authority to speak on behalf of Jesus. There are 3 requirements to be named as an apostle. (1) An individual must have followed Jesus during his entire earthly ministry. From his baptism until His ascension into Heaven. (2) The individual was required to have seen Jesus following the resurrection. And (3) the individual had to be selected by Jesus Himself. So if someone tells you they are an apostle today, you have my permission to say, “Liar, liar, pants on fire” because no one alive today has fulfilled these requirements.
But Paul fulfilled all of these. So he is fully qualified to write this letter and to help us better understand who we are in Christ and how we can fulfill our purpose in this life. He uses several words to help us understand our relationship to Christ---four I want to point out later in the message and explain each one. But first a brief illustration to help us understand why it is so important that we get a firm grasp on who we are and our identity in Christ.
Scientists have told us that ducks tend to imprint soon after birth. Now what does that mean? It means they will attach themselves to the first thing they see. They actually think they are becoming that thing. Now this usually works out fine because the first thing they typically see is a Mama duck. So they become like her. But on one occasion a duckling was hatched under the watchful eye of a collie---a dog. The baby duckling took one look at the collie and thought the collie was his mother. He followed the collie around, ran to it for protection and even slept near the dog at night. When a car would pull into the driveway he would run along with the dog and pecked at the tires just like the dog. Other things changed too. Now, the duck still quacked. Still enjoyed the water. At times he acted like a duck; other times he acted like a dog.
This is what we might call an identity crisis. All of us go through them. Believers as well as unbelievers. You see we have been born into a world that is fallen’ sinful and so we have become like the world because that’s the first thing we see. And here’s what happens: now we don’t really understand who we are. We try to do the right things but we fail. We act like the thing we think we are rather than who we truly are. So here is the 2nd truth I want to give to you today.
Ducks aren’t supposed to act like dogs and believers
aren’t supposed to act like unbelievers.
Now let’s look at four words/phrases I told you we would examine to help us better understand our identity in Christ. As a believer in Christ:
(1) You were chosen before the beginning of time to be Holy. Blameless. Separated. Believers aren’t supposed to act like unbelievers. I’m convinced this is one of the reasons we do not see more people come to Christ---because our lives don’t look different from that of an unbeliever. I am convinced this is one of the reasons we do not see more people come to Jesus --- because our lives don’t look different. The word means separated. Paul said “we live in the world but we do not belong to the world. We sing “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through” and it’s true. Our time here is short; James says “our lives are like a vapor---our time on earth passes very quickly.” So because we were chosen we must make voices on a daily basis must illustrate a holy life. You have been chosen to be a model; an example of what holiness looks like. You were chosen as Paul tells us “before the creation of the world.” What does that mean? Simple. God had you on His mind before anything else. Before darkness, before light, before there was land, before there were oceans, before anything god created---God was first thinking of you and me.
(2) You were adopted by God’s pleasure for His pleasure. You and I have been adopted by the King Himself. In college I majored in Social work. One of the courses I took as a requirement was devoted to child welfare and adoption procedures. My primary professor happened to be a believer. He invested in me as a student and also as a brother in Christ. As we studied adoptions the question came up, “how early should the parents tell their child they were adopted and how should they tell them?” I will never forget his answer… (1) Tell them from the very beginning…as early as possible. (2) When you tell them, tell them you looked all over the world and of all the choices out there, I chose you. I picked you first. That’s how important you are to me.
That is what God is saying to us in this verse.
There is no one exactly like you. Look all the world over; no one exactly like you. That’s why I chose you and I chose you for a special purpose.
You and I bring pleasure to the King of Kings. We were created to do that.
(3) You have been redeemed; bought with a price to make you priceless. As a child my mother was the primary breadwinner in our family. When she bought groceries she received a long strip of S&H green stamps. They would come flying out of the cash register at the store.
She would take them home and paste them into booklets and stored them in the kitchen drawer. But there would come a day when she would open the drawer and carry them out the door and she would go to the S&H Green Stamp redemption center. And she would bring home a shiny new coffee pot---or another item for the house, all because of those seemingly worthless stamps. God di the same for us. He took us to the redemption Center---located at the foot of the cross---spilled His blood on us for you and me and we were taken from the category of sinner to saint. Remade from something that is full of worth; shiny and new. Clean. That’s why Paul tells us that “if anyone is “in Christ” he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold the new has come. We are redeemed!
(4) We are chosen on purpose for a purpose. Verse 9 reminds us we were purposed in Christ. We were established in Christ. We were not a mistake. We were made for a purpose. From before creation God had us in mind---and was intentional about the way he made us. The psalmist says it this way…. “Lord you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful.” Made On purpose FOR a purpose.
Paul says in verse 13 that when we were made we were marked with a seal. A seal of God’s approval; a seal of God’s protection. The seal of the Holy Spirit. We were established for a purpose. And once you understand who you are as sons and daughter in Christ you will begin to understand your purpose. Years ago, a man who was quite wealthy shared a passion with his son for fine paintings/artwork. So together they collected art, Picasso, Van Goh Monet, priceless works. They hung all over the house. As the boy grew older war broke out and the young man left to serve his country.
After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram from the army …informing him … that his son … had been killed in battle … while carrying a fellow soldier … to a medic. That Christmas a knock came at the door of the old man’s home and as he opened the door, … he was greeted by a soldier … with a large package … in his hand. The soldier introduced himself to the man … by saying, “I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing … when he died. He said, “May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you.”
The soldier said, “I’m an artist and I want to give you this.” As the old man unwrapped the package, the paper gave way … and it revealed a portrait … of his son. The painting did feature the young man’s face in striking detail, and seemed to capture his personality. He was so pleased to receive it. The following spring, the old man became quite ill …and passed away. According to the will of the old man, all of the art works … were to be auctioned. The day soon arrived, and art collectors from around the world … gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular … paintings.
The auction began with a painting … that was not on any … of the museum’s list. It was the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid. The room was silent. “Who will open the bidding with $100?” he asked.” Minutes passed with not a sound from those … who came to buy. From the back of the room someone called out, “Who cares about that painting? It’s just a picture of his son. Move on to the important stuff. Van Gogh, Picasso. But the auctioneer replied, … “No, we have to sell this one first. Now, who will take the painting of the son?” Finally,… a friend of the old man spoke. “I knew the boy,… so I’d like to have it. I will bid the $100. “I have a bid for $100,” called the auctioneer. “Will anyone go higher?” After a long silence, the auctioneer said, “Going once. Going twice. Gone.” The gavel fell.
Someone cried out, now we can move on to the important stuff. At that point the auctioneer looked at the audience and announced the auction was over. They were stunned. Someone spoke up and asked, “What do you mean it’s over? We didn’t come here for a picture of some old guy’s son.
What about all of these other paintings? There are millions of dollars’ worth of art here! We demand an explanation. The auctioneer replied, “It’s really very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son... receives everything.”
